How To Train Your Dragon: Hiccup's Fate
by Dark Guymelef
Summary: It's been 2 years since the war ended. In Hiccup's opinion, things couldn't be getting much better. However, when strangers arrive on the island of Berk, Hiccup and his friends begin an adventure that will decide the fate of the whole world. Epilogue up!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train Your Dragon nor any of the characters in it.

How To Train Your Dragon:

Hiccup's Fate

Chp.1

Nightmare

Astrid tossed and turned in her bed. Her woolly covers had completely fallen to the floor. From an outsider's point of view, it would be obvious that she was having a nightmare. However, no one could possibly predict the realistic, brutal nightmare she was having. Astrid gasped, shuddering on her bed. Now, let's see what exactly she is seeing.

Berk was on fire. Not just the whole village, the whole island. Flames reached what seemed like miles into the sky. Astrid was lost and afraid. All around her the houses burned, and there wasn't a soul in sight, not even a dragon. The only sound to reach her ears besides her own frantic breathing was the crackling of the flames. She ran about, shouting for her family and friends.

"Astrid," a voice faintly whispered. She barely heard over the roar of the numerous fires, but she still knew to whom the voice belonged.

"Hiccup!" She shouted, "Hiccup, where are you? Answer me!"

"Astrid!" the voice was slightly louder this time, loud enough for her to discern from where it was coming. Astrid turned, looking into the night sky. There, lit by the sea of flames, Astrid could make up a dark shape heading toward her. It was the shape of a dragon.

"Hiccup, Toothless! I'm here!" Astrid shouted as she ran towards the oncoming shape. However, with her eyes fixed on the sky, she failed to notice something on the ground in front of her. She tripped over the object, face sliding in the dirt. She got up and turned to look at what she had tripped over.

It was a body, that much she could tell. The burning straw and wood houses on either side were casting shadows on it, so she couldn't identify it. She took a step forward and noticed something odd about it; half of one leg was missing. A terrible, fleeting thought crossed her mind, but she crushed immediately. Tentatively, she approached the body; a weird, tightening feeling beginning to increase in her chest.

Suddenly, the house to her left collapsed. The flames shot higher as the wooden house fell in on itself. The sudden movement startled Astrid, and she found herself staring at the building as it's remains continued to burn. Then, something caught her eye. An object laying a few feet from the building was glinting in the firelight. Astrid approached it, and stood as still as a statue when she saw what it was. The object was a uniquely designed prosthetic leg. It was mangled, as if something really big had stepped on it. Her mind totally frozen, her body trembling, Astrid slowly turned around.

The new position of the fire cast a dim glow on the body, but it was enough. Astrid stood in total shock, her mind completely blank as she stared at Hiccup's lifeless body. This couldn't be true, it wasn't possible, and her mind simply wouldn't comprehend it. Then, she heard a terrible roar.

Astrid turned around to look at the black shape soaring through the sky toward her. She could now see its terrible, glowing red eyes. It definitely wasn't toothless, she now noticed it was much larger than him. This dragon had to be at least three times the size of a Monstrous Nightmare. She began to notice a white glow from what she assumed was the beast's mouth. She could hear her name being called, but Astrid found herself paralyzed by fear. She screamed as white flames streamed from the black dragon's mouth, heading right for her.

The blonde Viking sat straight up as she finished screaming. As the adrenaline began to fade, she noticed her mother's worried face looking over her. Grunting and squawking sounds drew her attention over to her father and Prince, her Deadly Nadder. Judging by the splinters and the hole where her door should have been, Astrid guessed that Prince had busted down her door in his attempt to rescue her from the terrible nightmare. Now, her father was attempting to wrestle the overly excited dragon to the ground. You had to give it to the dragons, once they became attached to someone; they were the most loyal and protective creatures on the planet.

"Astrid, are you alright?" Fear and concern were etched across her mother's face.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine mom," Astrid replied.

"We heard you call Hiccup's name," her father grunted by the doorway as he came to sit on the Nadder's head, "if you're going to start having nightmares over him, maybe we shouldn't let you marry him." At this, both Astrid and her mother gasped and gave him reproachful looks. Prince, who had grown fond of Hiccup and had at least an idea what Astrid's father had implied, promptly threw the Viking from his head.

*

The sky was unusually clear, and the temperature oddly warm for the island of Berk, but none of that bothered a certain young man. In fact, it was doubtful if anything could bother Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, he was in such a good mood. The young Viking practically strutted through the village, humming to himself. And, since news spread like wild fire in this village, everyone thought he had a perfectly good reason to be unusually happy. He had just gotten engaged to a one Astrid Hofferson after all.

It had been two years since Hiccup had shown the village into a new era. Two years since he lost half of his left leg, two years since he and Astrid had become a couple. He was still extremely skinny and small for a Viking, but he had gained quite a bit of muscle in the past two years, mostly in thanks to Astrid. He was also now an excellent fighter, also thanks to Astrid. However, he was still the island's top dragon expert and reigning champion of dragon riding. Together, he and the Night Fury, Toothless, formed and undefeatable team.

Hiccup waved to Snotlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Fishlegs as he passed by. Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Fishlegs yelled back, congratulating him on his engagement to Astrid. Snotlout just scowled at him, jealous that Astrid had chosen Hiccup over him.

"Where're you going?" Tuffnut asked.

"I'm going to ride Toothless for a little bit, then Astrid and I have some… things to discuss," Hiccup replied with a grin. He then continued on his way to his house, the largest home on the island.

Hiccup opened the door and was flattened by Toothless. The dragon had been waiting for his rider to return home so that they could go flying. The dragon got off of Hiccup and moved to the side, looking at the young Viking expectantly.

"Ok buddy," Hiccup said as he hooked himself to the dragon. "Let's get started, shall we?"

The dragon roared, and took off. Screams of "Night Fury!" erupted from below as the black dragon and his rider whistled overhead. The dragon suddenly began performing all sorts of tricks for the village. Toothless had an unusual habit of showing off himself and Hiccup in front of other Vikings. Then the two sped off into the sky.

Down by the docks, Astrid smiled as she watched the two. She heard Hiccup whoop before disappearing into the clouds, which earned a content sigh from her. She was going to marry that boy someday in the near future, and she loved the idea of it. Then, for whatever reason, she turned to look down at the docks.

Especially since the end of the war, trade between the Vikings of Berk and other tribes had sky rocketed. Ships came in several times a month carrying foreign goods. Berk had also become quite the tourist attraction, with its newer residents and all. She recognized most of the ships that had come in today, but one in particular caught her attention.

Astrid had never seen this ship before. It was painted black; the black sail had a blood red picture of the sun being pierced by two swords. The dragon on the front was highly detailed, different from the other ships, and menacing. The men on the boat didn't look all that vikingish either. They were smaller, and less muscular than normal Vikings, but looked deadly all the same. She watched one man in particular come off the boat and begin walking in her direction. Astrid didn't know why, but this man sent shivers down her spine. He wore a fine, velvety, black cloak. A sword in an elaborately decorated scabbard hung from his black belt. Even his hands were covered by black leather gloves. It wasn't until he spoke that Astrid realized he had reached her.

"Excuse me miss, but could you tell me where I can find the home of Stoic the Vast?" The man's voice seemed innocent enough, but it sent shivers down her spine again all the same.

"Uh, um, y-yeah," Astrid stuttered. _C'mon Astrid, get a hold of yourself._ "It's up there, on top of the hill. The highest point in the village."

The man thanked her and proceeded to head for the Chief's house. She had a really bad feeling about that man. All thoughts of this were dispersed, however, when she heard what was in her opinion the most beautiful voice in the whole world call out, "Hey, Astrid!" The blonde Viking then turned and ran happily into her fiancée's arms.

***

**So, what do you think? If I'm going to keep updating this, I'm going to need reviews to tell me it's worth it. I'm going to get this story rolling next chapter, if this one succeeds.**

**Darkguymelef**


	2. Chapter 2

Chp.2

Weddings and Prophecies

There was a loud knock on the Haddock's large wooden door. Stoic the Vast, who had been looking over some papers on shipping, answered the door. Standing in front of him was a man wearing a black cloak. Before Stoic could say anything, the man spoke first.

"Are you Stoic the Vast, Chief of this tribe?" a chilling voice asked the giant man.

"Yes, I am. And who is asking?"

"I have come here on behalf of my employer," the man said, "he has something that he wishes for me to discuss with you."

Though negotiating through trade had become a part of life for the Chief since the end of the war, Stoic was still not used to it. Because of this, he was a little taken aback by the stranger's request. Still, the Viking stepped aside and allowed the man to enter.

The two sat across from each other at a table. Then the man continued. "My employer would like to use part of the land at the other side of this island to build a small village of sorts. Our people have only recently come to live in this area and we need a place to stay, so our leaders have begun to send messengers like me to secure small parts of land for our people. There won't be many living here and you won't have to provide for them. We can even keep ourselves secluded from you if you wish."

Stoic thought only for a moment before answering, "Of course your people can stay here. We rarely use the other end of the island, so as long as you don't mind seeing dragons overhead, it'd be our pleasure."

At that moment, the door opened. Hiccup, his fiancée at his heels, burst into the house, "Dad, Astrid and I have a few things we need to talk to you about the wedding." He stopped short when he saw the cloaked figure sitting at the table with Stoic. The man turned to look at Hiccup, and though he couldn't see the stranger's face, he still felt an odd chill. He immediately felt Astrid's grip tighten on his hand.

Stoic looked almost a little lost for words for a moment, as he looked back and forth between his son and this stranger. "I, uh, just a minute, Hiccup. We're almost done here." Hiccup just nodded and walked back out the door.

"A wedding?" The stranger inquired.

"Yes, my son, Hiccup, is going to be married in a couple of months." Stoic took a deep breath and puffed out his chest in pride. When he spoke again, his voice was filled with emotion, "I'm so proud of him. He's come a long way from the way he used to be… but I'm getting sidetracked. Where were we?"

"You had just given my people permission to build a village on the island," the Viking chief failed to notice the hint of amusement in the stranger's voice.

"Ah, yes! Tell your master I would be happy to lend him some land, we can even help you build it."

The stranger got up and turned to leave. He was almost at the door when something occurred to Stoic. "Wait!" he called, "What is the name of your people?"

The stranger stopped and was silent for a moment, almost as if he was thinking. "Magus. Call us Magus."

"And what is your name?"

This time the stranger turned back to Stoic the Vast, and the Viking got the distinct feeling that he was smiling. "Aries, Aries Shadowfang." With that, the figure turned and left.

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Astrid had stood outside as the two finished talking. Hiccup turned to Astrid. "I don't know what it is about that guy, bet he gives me the creeps."

"I got the same feeling when he asked me where your dad's house was."

"When did you talk to him?"

"I was down by the docks watching you and Toothless."

A few seconds later the stranger left, nodding to them as he passed by. They watched him walk away until he rounded the corner and disappeared, and then they went inside. They found Hiccup's father back over by the papers he had been looking at before the stranger arrived.

"Who was that Dad? What did he want?"

"Oh, just permission to build a small village on the island," Stoic said, waving it off. "So, what did you two want to talk to me about?"

*

The wedding date was set for two months later. The first month was spent planning and waiting. If anything, this engagement seemed to bring the two even closer together. You could hardly find one without the other being nearby. Their happiness was so contagious, even Snotlout couldn't be grumpy around Hiccup anymore. Meanwhile, the Magus had begun construction on their village. The hooded figure made frequent visits to the village, often leaving with supplies. As commerce between the two villages increased, the Vikings learned a few things of their new neighbors.

The Magus were ruled by a King, and were spread across many small villages. Their elite soldiers were a group of knights known as the Dragon Knights, because the first generation had rode dragons into battle. They had been chased from their previous home to waters in which Berk was located. However, not all was well with them. There was a rumor that an evil organization known as the Shadow Knights was beginning to grow in power. No one knew who they were nor what they wanted. While it was a big concern for the Magus, it did nothing but feed the gossip in Berk.

When there was one month to the day of their marriage, Hiccup had a special plan in store for himself and Astrid. However, upon waking in the morning, he realized that most of it was going to have to go out the window. When Hiccup had proceeded downstairs, a familiar scene met his sight. His father and a hooded Magus were conversing with each other.

"Ahh, Hiccup," Stoic the Vast said as he saw his son. "I'm afraid I need to go visit the Magus village today, so you're going to have to do some extra errands for me. After all, you're going to have to get used to it since you will be chief one day."

As Hiccup nodded his head while groaning inwardly, the hooded man stepped forward and bowed. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, on behalf of my King, I'm told to congratulate you on your engagement. As a token of goodwill, my liege wishes me to present you with this." The Magus retrieved a sword and scabbard from his cloak, holding it out to Hiccup.

Hiccup was at a loss for words as he took the sword and admired it. It was very different from the rough, vikingish swords he had used before. They made this weapon look like a ceremonial item. The light glinted off of the steel blade. It had a silver handle, and the scabbard was black and silver with jewels encrusted in it. An inscription on the blade said, "Hiccup the Dragon Rider." Hiccup barely managed to stutter out a thank you, after which Stoic patted his son on the back and left with the Magus.

Hiccup just stood there staring at the sword until a knock brought him back to his senses. The boy looked up just as Astrid poked her head in. Before she could say anything though, Toothless knocked the door wide open and bounded into the room. The dragon whined as he nudged Hiccup with his nose, clearly wanting to go out and fly.

"I'm sorry Toothless," Hiccup apologized, "but we're going to have to wait until later to fly." The dragon made a sound that was halfway between a whine and a growl as Hiccup turned to Astrid, "I'm sorry, my dad left so now I have to run errands for him."

"That's okay," Astrid replied, kissing Hiccup before she continued, "I'll run them with you."

"Thanks Astrid."

"Hiccup? What is that?" Astrid asked, pointing at the sword Hiccup had dropped when Toothless had charged at him.

"Oh, that? That's, um, well, that's," Hiccup wasn't sure how Astrid would react to not receiving a gift, "that's a gift from the King of the Magus. He had his messenger congratulate me on our wedding."

Astrid could tell that Hiccup was afraid she would be upset that she hadn't received a gift, so why disappoint him? Astrid promptly hit Hiccup in the arm, retrieving an "ow" from the man. "That's for getting a gift when I didn't," then she kissed him passionately. They pulled apart when Toothless snorted, a bored look on his face. Astrid looked at Hiccup and said breathlessly, "and that's for everything else."

So, the two set out doing the errands Stoic had left for Hiccup. They checked up on stockpiles, helped build new buildings, and other chiefly business. After that, Hiccup had to fulfill his own duties by giving dragon-training lessons. They were mostly for the younger Vikings, but also for those who hadn't gotten the hang of having a dragon or had a particular problem. By the time he was done, night had fallen.

"Hey," Hiccup greeted as he kissed Astrid outside the training dome. Out of the corner of his eye, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Fishlegs, and Snotlout gave him a thumbs up as they walked by. Grinning, Hiccup grabbed Astrid's hand, "C'mon, I've got a special surprise for you."

Hiccup led Astrid back to his house, where Toothless was waiting for them. Hiccup climbed on, with Astrid behind him. She wrapped her arms tightly around him as Toothless took to the sky. For a while, he soared just below the clouds, allowing Astrid to wave her hands in them. It reminded her of their first ride, which she suspected was Hiccup's goal. Toothless then took them above the clouds to see the moon, which looked absolutely massive.

Hiccup turned back to look at Astrid and was stunned by what he saw. Astrid seemed to be genuinely glowing. Astrid giggled at the look on Hiccup's face before she kissed him. Toothless purred and looked back at the two. Upon seeing how they seemed to be glued together, he rolled his eyes and began to dive, once again splitting them apart.

"Toothless!" They both laughed as the dragon proceeded to turn their ride into a roller coaster. After a series of dives, rolls, and flips, the dragon set them down by the small lake where Hiccup used train Toothless. There, a picnic was all laid out and prepared for them.

As the two had dinner and Toothless went fishing, they reminisced the past two years and talked about the future.

How did you prepare all of this Hiccup?" Astrid asked, "I've been with you all day."

"Oh, I had some help," Hiccup replied, thinking back to when he had asked their other four friends for help a few days ago.

Astrid leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, Hiccup."

"No problem. I love you, Astrid."

"I love you too, Hiccup."

Afterwards, Hiccup had flown Astrid back to her home before setting off for his house. When he got there, he let Toothless inside and got into bed. Just before he fell asleep, he turned to the dragon.

"Yep, Toothless, things are looking up."

*

For Astrid, however, it was going to be a long night. She slowly drifted off to sleep, content with the night she had had.

When she awoke, Astrid found herself in the middle of a forest. She had the strange feeling she was lost. Cautiously, the blonde Viking woman crept forward, ax at the ready. After a while, she began to feel like she was being followed. Finally, she heard the crack of a twig behind her. Giving her best war cry, she turned, launching the ax from her hand.

Her aim was true. Her ax was dead on as it flew at a young man in silver plate armor. There was only one problem, the ax didn't stop. It flew right through the man, imbedding itself in a tree behind him. The young man shook his head before taking a step toward her.

"Is that how you greet everyone, Astrid?" he asked in a calm voice.

Astrid just glared at him. "Who are you?" she demanded.

The young man stopped in front of her. He was wearing silver armor over a black tunic, with a sword at his side. He had short, brown hair and bright blue eyes. He bowed to her as he spoke, "I am Chris, Chris Shadowfang."

"Where am I? Why did you bring me here?"

"I brought you here because there is something that I must show you," Chris replied calmly. "Look behind you."

Astrid turned and saw what looked like a floating puddle of water. Chris walked up to it, and beckoned Astrid to follow him. They both walked into the puddle of water. It felt weird to Astrid, but it certainly wasn't wet.

When they emerged, Astrid and Chris were inside a large hut. The walls were lined with shelves. On the shelves were hundreds of jars and other odd objects. There was a door at one end of the hut, and an elaborate chair at the other. Sitting in the chair was an old hag. She looked like what Astrid imagined would be a troll, minus the size. In front of the hag was a young man wearing black armor and a black cape. He had short, black hair.

"Do not worry," Chris said, "these are ghosts of the past, they cannot see nor hear us."

The young man was clutching something in his hand as he turned to leave. When he turned around, Astrid tensed. The man looked exactly like Chris, minus the hair color and clothing and his eyes. The man's eyes were a glowing red. Evil seemed to thicken the air around him. He was almost to the door when the hag spoke.

"You seek a power to rival that of the Gods," she croaked, "but you will still die in the end."

The man turned, grinning wickedly at her and, in an oddly familiar, cold voice replied. "Oh really? And what makes you think that, witch?"

"I have foreseen it. You shall fall to another dragon rider from much farther north."

"And who might this oh-so-magnificent rider be?"

"A young Viking, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and his dragon, Toothless."

The man's smile got even bigger, "Ha, you've grown old and frail, witch; and now your powers are starting to fail you. I shall hunt down this Viking, and then we shall see who is right."

The seen before them changed, and Astrid once again found herself in a burning Berk. On the ground between her and Chris was Hiccup's lifeless body. Astrid glared at Chris furiously, her eyes shining in the firelight.

"Who are you!? Why did you show me this!?"

"Because, Astrid," the man replied calmly, "because you are the key to Hiccup's fate, just as Hiccup is the key to the fate of the world. Only you can save him, can keep him safe. You must protect him and prepare him, or else," he gestured to the scene around him, "this shall come to pass." Then, everything faded away.

Finally, I'm done with this chapter. I had to cut it short because it was getting so long. The next update probably won't come so quickly. I was just sick today and had nothing else to do. Your reviews were great! Keep them coming!

**Dark Guymelef**


	3. Chapter 3

Chp. 3

Marriage and Shadow

A man with a long, brown beard wearing a flowing purple robe with gold embroidery sat upon a large, marble throne. The hall was filled with marble pillars and gold statues. The marble floor looked like the night sky, giving one the sense of walking through space. There was a long, red and gold carpet that led from the throne on its raised pedestal to two large, wooden doors. A young man entered the room and knelt before the King.

"Ah, General Aries," the King said, "Have your Dragon Knights been successful in finding these Shadow traitors?"

General Aries Shadowfang was in his early 20's, or so he looked. He wore a black tunic under black plate armor with a black cape fastened to it. He had short, black hair and cold, gray eyes. "No my liege. The Shadow Knights continue to elude us. We have received reports of plots to take your life though. I humbly request that you allow a few of my men to be added to your honor guard."

The King thought for a moment before speaking, "Very well, you may do so. However, I want you two double your searches for these miscreants."

"As you wish, Your Majesty," Aries turned and left, a wicked grin spreading across his face. Things were going exactly as he had planned.

*

There was only a week left, and all anyone in the village could talk about was the wedding. It was to be a tremendous occasion for sure. It was the marriage of the Chief's son, the hero of Berk, the one person no one would have ever dreamed of making it so far. Hiccup would have been giddy with excitement, if it hadn't been for the fact that Astrid had suddenly taken a liking to wearing him out in training for the past month. She was doing a good job of keeping her excitement contained herself.

The village was alive and buzzing with the preparations for the wedding. Food for the feast was gathered, events were planned, it was like a semi-carnival. Much to their disappointment, the soon-to-be bride and groom were often whisked away from each other to help in the preparations. Pretty much the only time they had together was when they were training, or flying their dragons.

Speaking of which, Toothless and Prince did not like the large amount of separation time from their masters. They knew something important was happening, (dragons are very intelligent), but they were both very annoyed by Hiccup and Astrid's persistent absence.

Finally the day arrived. The excitement in the town was so thick and intense you could practically cut it with a knife. Hiccup and Astrid had retired early the night before, because they knew that final preparations would begin at the crack of dawn. The Vikings of Berk had very odd traditions, this being one of them.

Hiccup's day began even earlier than the crack of dawn, however. He hadn't been able to sleep well anyway, but that didn't make Toothless' early morning wake up call any better. The Night Fury was super-charged by the energy that seemed to have infected the residents of Berk. He leapt on top of the surprised Viking, purring and whining.

"Hey! Toothless! Why are you up so early buddy?" Hiccup yawned. "Well, since I'm up, do want to go flying for a bit?"

The dragon hummed before turning around and bounding out the door, obviously ecstatic at the chance to fly. Hiccup yawned again before getting up and getting dressed. Once he had his flying gear on, the young man joined his dragon outside.

Hiccup mounted Toothless and patted his neck, "Alright Toothless, let's go."

The black dragon spread his wings and shot into the sky. The cool wind was refreshing for them both and chased any weariness Hiccup still had away. Toothless dived until he was a few feet above the surface of the sea. The dragon weaved in and out, below and above the rocks and small islands surrounding the Berk. After about an hour of flying, Hiccup and Toothless touched down by their home as the first rays of sunlight peaked over the horizon. Stoic and a small band of male Vikings were waiting just outside the house.

"Well Hiccup, you're up bright and early," the Viking Chief said as he unfolded his arms and strode forward. He put a huge hand on his son's shoulder as he led him to the other Vikings. "Today is a very important day, possibly the most important of your life. There are still some last minute preparations to be done, and I've chosen these men to prep you." He pushed hiccup towards Gobber the Belch, who stood at the front of the group. "I would help, but there are some last minute things I must take care of myself." He winked at Hiccup before turning and leaving.

Gobber watched Stoic walk away for a moment before he turned to Hiccup, "Well, c'mon Hiccup, we have some… things that need to be taken care of."

As they turned to leave, Toothless began to follow. At first, Gobber protested. However, after growling and singeing the Viking's hair, he gave in. The troop then proceeded to the crypt of Hiccup's ancestors, where he would retrieve his ceremonial "gift" for Astrid. This "gift" was an ancestral sword, which would one day be given to their own child.

Astrid's mother woke her just as the first rays of light were peeping over the horizon. She led a group of Viking wives, who took Astrid to choose her gift to Hiccup. It ended up being a shield lined with polished steel and several steel studs on a plate in the center. It wasn't even really Astrid's choice, Prince just picked it up and set it at her feet. Every time someone would put it back, the dragon would squawk, pick it up, and put down in front of her again.

After breakfast, the festivities began. There were ax throwing competitions, roasted lamb eating competitions, a combative tournament (which Hiccup actually did decent in, thanks to Astrid), dragon races and acrobatics (which Hiccup and Toothless blew everyone out of the water), even a Viking form of capture the flag (except, with dragons).

After lunch, the bride and groom were taken to get changed. Hiccup would be wearing a green tunic with a fur cape. The sword given to him from the Magus would be hanging from his belt. Astrid was going to wear a blue… vikingish wedding gown. Her normal headgear was replaced by a crown of twigs, clover, and, wouldn't you know, astrids.

The ceremony was to be held in front of a small grove of trees just beyond the village. The whole village and all of their dragons were there. Hiccup stood next to Stoic, who was going to marry them. When Ruffnut appeared wearing a maid's gown, the crowd all turned their attention to the young woman behind her. When Ruffnut moved out of the way, Hiccup was stunned. It was a good thing Astrid and her father were taking their time making their way up there, because Hiccup's brain was experiencing a temporary shutdown. She not only looked beautiful, but in Hiccup's opinion, she literally glowed. When she saw him and smiled, his heart was reduced to putty.

Finally, the two reached Hiccup and his father. Hiccup presented the sword of his ancestor's to Astrid as she gave him the shield she/Prince had chosen. After the exchange, the two held hands and turned to the Chief. With tears in his eyes, Stoic the Vast began the ceremony. After exchanging vows, it finally came to the deciding moment.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III," Stoic said happily, "do you take Astrid Hofferson to be your wife, to care for her in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

Hiccup turned to look at Astrid. Both of their eyes shone, their immense love for each other no longer hidden. He picked up Astrid's ring from a pillow held by Gobber and slipped on Astrid's petite hand. Hiccup took a deep breath and smiled, "I do."

"And do you, Astrid Hofferson, take Hiccup to be your husband, to care for him in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

Hiccup could have sworn that he glimpsed a tear in Astrid's eye as she looked at him and placed his ring on his finger. "I do."

"Then I hereby pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride." Stoic said as he wiped a tear from his eye.

The two stood there, staring at each other, in their own little world. Obviously having an idea what was supposed to happen, Toothless and Prince, who were standing behind their respective owners, looked at each other. As if on cue, they nudged their masters from behind, pushing them into each other. Hiccup's and Astrid's lips met, and the crowd erupted into a roar of congratulations and laughter.

That night, there was a huge feast. All of the Vikings sat at long tables set outside, while the dragons feasted nearby. As the feast ended, Stoic; who sat at the head table with Gobber, Hiccup and Astrid, and Astrid's parents; stood and turned to the newly weds.

"Well Hiccup, Astrid, today is the start of you life together. I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say, may it be long and happy. Now, before we all hit the sack, I have one last surprise for you two."

Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other as they and the rest of the Vikings arose from their seats to follow Stoic. He led them to a large object covered by an even larger piece of cloth and rope. At Stoic's command, several Vikings untied the rope, allowing the cloth to fall. Everyone gasped. The Viking chief turned to his son and daughter-in-law.

"Hiccup, Astrid, welcome to your new home."

*

While the Vikings were being merry and celebrating however, chaos had erupted in every Magus village, fortress, and ship in existence. Soldiers, who had long considered each other brothers-in-arms, fought and killed one another. The Magus palace, situated in the most unlikely of places, echoed with the sounds of battle. The throne room was safely secured against attack, with the Dragon Knights guarding the King on the outside, and the rest of his guard on the inside. The doors opened and a black clad figure, sword in hand, entered the room.

"Aries! What is going on? Why have our men turned on us?" The King demanded.

The doors shut tight behind Aries as he spoke, readying his weapon, "That's because this kingdom no longer belongs to you, old fool. It now belongs to me, and my Shadow Knights."

"No!" the King said in disbelief. Then, turning to his guards he commanded, "Kill that traitor!"

As the honor guard charged forward, only one thought went through Aries' mind: _Poor fools. The never stood a chance._

**Well, that's done. I thought that Viking weddings were a bit boring and… weird, so I added a little bit of a modern wedding. I couldn't quite remember everything that is said, so I apologize for any missing words from the ceremony. How did I do? I've never written about a wedding before, so I'm curious as to how I did. I'm also thinking of having the next chapter be about Hiccup's and Astrid's new wedded life; or just skipping right ahead with the story. What do you guys think? Please review!**

**Dark Guymelef**


	4. Chapter 4

Chp. 4

Wedded Bliss and the Viking Tournament

Astrid woke as bright sunlight shone down on her face. She turned to her left to see Hiccup gazing at her dreamily. She smiled at him, feeling her heart skip a beat when he smiled back. It had been two weeks since they had gotten married.

"Hey," was all Hiccup could manage to say. Astrid noticed that the look he was currently wearing on his face was generally associated to a lack of brain function.

She smiled, "Morning Hiccup." She reached forward and brought him closer, pressing his lips to hers. It was a chaste kiss, but they both felt the love behind it. They were about to kiss again when a rapping sound came from their door.

Toothless and Prince had gotten used to their new home. They had understood that this was the way things were going to be for a long time, and had learned to like it. They had also learned, when the newlyweds were sleeping longer than they liked, that scratching at the door, growling, and squawking would get them up. So, shortly after the rapping sound began, a cacophony of other noises issued from the other side of the door.

"Alright, alright! We're up!" The two yelled back at the dragons. Astrid got up and began getting dressed while Hiccup put on his prosthetic leg. He then hobbled over to his dresser while his stub of a leg got used to the attachment.

"When are you going to be back from dragon lessons?" Astrid asked. Since they were now married, her primary job had become to look after the house in addition to being a warrior. Though, in her excitement of being married she didn't mind it, she still found it a little boring and couldn't wait for her husband to come home.

"Probably around noon. Then I'll be free for most of the day, but Dad had something he wanted to tell me after dinner."

"Alright," Astrid said as she came back around the bed to kiss Hiccup again. "I'll have lunch waiting for you. Don't be late, we're going to train after lunch." She then turned and walked toward the door, from which rapping sounds were beginning to emanate again.

The Haddock house was just as big if not bigger than Stoic's own house. It had two floors and a cellar. Most of the first floor was taken up by the living room, which had a table, a few chairs, a desk for Hiccup, and a stone fireplace. There were three other rooms on the first floor were a storage room, dining room/ kitchen, and the front room. The storage room contained anything from spare blankets to weapons. The front room had a huge rug and the shield Astrid gave Hiccup hanging on the wall as well as the stairs to the second floor. The kitchen/dining room had a few cupboards, a counter type area, and a table & chairs. The second floor had the master bedroom, a loft, and two other bedrooms that were currently set up as guestrooms.

Toothless and Prince were waiting for Astrid when she walked into the kitchen. She sighed as she tossed fish to the two hungry reptiles before beginning to make breakfast for herself and Hiccup. Her mother had taught her how to perform the tasks of a Viking wife well, even if Astrid had not always expected to get married, least of all to Hiccup. At first, Hiccup has suggested that he make his own meals, but Astrid had flatly refused. She saw it as a way of expressing her love for the young man.

So, when Hiccup entered the room and sat at the table, Astrid had a meal ready for him. The two ate in silence as they sat across from each other, enjoying each other's company. When Hiccup was done, he got up, kissed his wife goodbye, and walked out to start his day.

It was about an hour left before noon when Astrid heard a commotion outside. When she opened the door, a hilarious site met her eyes. A rather large group of mostly young Vikings were chasing a pack of Terrible Terrors through the streets. It didn't help that Toothless, who Hiccup always took with him when he was teaching, was having the time of his life scattering the tiny dragons.

"Hi honey!" Hiccup stopped to wave before taking off after his class again. Astrid's training regimen had made it so that he could still run pretty well with his prosthetic limb.

Astrid laughed and, after taking one look back at the house, took off after them. She thanked Thor for this chance to be out and about. Prince, who had been admiring himself in a nearby puddle, saw her and gave pursuit, squawking all the way.

They had finally rounded up all of the Terrors in the square in front of the tavern. However, the sun chose that moment and that exact spot to shine down from the clouds overhead. Its light glinted off the helmets of a few of the Vikings, and that was it. The small dragons went berserk. Some chased after the light reflecting off of the helmets, while others took advantage of the chaos to escape into the village once again.

This time, even more villagers decided to aid in the capture of the Terrors, who had spread out all throughout the village. They were everywhere. One was found in a pot in the Tavern. Two more were captured as they terrorized a flock of sheep. Snotlout had to rescue one, because it had found its way onto his roof, which his dragon considered its territory. The Terror hung by its tail from the mouth of the Monstrous Nightmare, which refused to come off the roof.

As Hiccup chased the final dragon through the streets, Astrid guided the others back to the training dome to wait for him. As the dragon ran from him, it looked back and snickered. Suddenly, the Terror shot into the sky. Hiccup stopped as Toothless bound up to him, obviously intending to help in the capture of the illusive reptile. The Terror stopped in midair and looked down to start mocking Hiccup. However, its eyes widened in surprise as it was caught by a black blur.

When Hiccup and the other Vikings left the dome, Astrid had decided that they should just go to the tavern to eat. She soon realized her mistake in this, however, because as soon as they sat down, Vikings pounced on Hiccup like cats. They bombarded him with questions. Once the crowd had finally dispersed, Astrid looked at her husband and shook her head.

"What?"

"You're too kind, Hiccup."

"What makes you say that?"

"The way you let everyone get away with stuff like that all the time," Astrid said as she gestured to the room around them, "You need to be stricter. You need to set some rules and guidelines. You're the son of the Chief for crying out loud."

"But I don't mind," Hiccup protested, "If they need my help, I'm more than happy to give it."

"You need to set some limits," Astrid scolded. "If you don't, then I will," and she gave him a look that clearly said she was serious.

After they had lunch, Astrid and Hiccup returned to their home. As promised, Astrid grabbed her ax while Hiccup grabbed an old, dull sword and a wooden training shield. This had to have been his fourth shield, because of all the training he and Astrid did, she had whittled the shields to uselessness.

"You ready, Hiccup?" Astrid asked as they took up battle positions.

"Ready when you are," Hiccup called back, raising his shield.

"Then, in that case… Aaaarghhh!" Astrid gave her war cry, throwing her ax with all her might at Hiccup. It embedded itself in his shield without any problem, and Hiccup had to take a step back. He was shocked by the force of the throw and stared, wide-eyed, at the ax.

"What are you trying to kill me?"

Astrid charged forward and flipped into the air. "Focus Hiccup!" She cried as she landed on his shield and yanked the ax from it. She rolled away, dodging a swing from Hiccup's sword.

Hiccup charged forward, swinging his sword. Astrid either parried the blow, or she dodged it entirely. Hiccup wasn't fast enough, and that was annoying her. He wasn't giving it his all, and she knew it. She hated doing what she was about to do, but she had to do it. She knocked away another attack, struck the shield, moved around it, hit Hiccup across the side of the face, and kicked his not-so-good leg out from under him. Next thing he knew, Hiccup was lying on the ground with Astrid's ax hovering above his throat.

"You are not giving it your all Hiccup." She stated, pointing out the obvious.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to hurt you. If something happened to you because of me, I'd never forgive myself."

Astrid kicked him angrily, "That was for making me sound weak," Then she bent down and kissed him, "and that's for caring." She helped him to his feet. Hiccup staggered a bit as he adjusted after the prosthetic was kicked, which made Astrid feel a pang of guilt. "You need to give it everything you've got. An enemy isn't going to feel sorry for your foot, and they'll always go for the kill."

"I know, I know."

"Good, then let's start again."

This time, they both charged, making their Viking blood pound. When they met, there was a flurry of swings and stabs. The two were locked in a magnificent duel, blocking each other's attacks and then countering with their own. The wooden shield received a dozen new scars. Finally, as Hiccup parried one of Astrid's attacks, he knocked the ax away, and lunged forward. He stopped the blade point several inches away from Astrid's throat, but it was clear that the match was decided. Panting, Astrid let her ax fall to the ground as Hiccup sheathed the sword.

"I think that's enough for today," Astrid panted. "See? You can be really good when you try."

"Thanks," Hiccup replied sheepishly.

They found themselves gazing into each other's eyes. Emerald green got lost in bright blue. Without even realizing it, they had walked to each other. Then, Hiccup closed the space between them. The two were locked in a passionate kiss. Hiccup's arms circled Astrid's waist, bringing her closer to him as she threw her arms around his neck in an attempt, a need to deepen the kiss. And then, as if they had been waiting for this to happen, husband and wife heard a purr and a squawk from behind them. The two separated to see the sources of the sounds.

Toothless and Prince were both sitting on the grass, looking at the two expectantly. As if to make their desire clear, Toothless spread his wings. Hiccup and smiled at each other before letting go and approaching their dragons. Together, they took to the skies.

At first, they flew side by side below the clouds. Then, as if to show off, Toothless began to fly in circles around Astrid and her Nadder. As if they read each other's minds, they dived at the same time, soaring just feet above the water. As they headed in the direction of Berk, they passed Fishlegs on his Gronckle. Hiccup and Astrid waved to him as they soared by, passing over the village. The sun was beginning to set by the time they landed next to the house.

Hiccup went about feeding the dragons while Astrid fixed their dinner. When it was ready, they sat at the table, happily conversing about the day's events. However, they both felt that there was one subject that had occupied their minds that they were avoiding. When they had finished, Hiccup kissed Astrid goodbye before departing for the tavern. Night had fallen fully by now, and the lights from the houses lit the streets.

When Hiccup entered the tavern, he spotted Stoic the Vast sitting at a table with Gobber the Belch. Upon seeing his son, the giant Viking motioned him to sit with them.

"Ah, Hiccup! Come have a seat. You're right on time."

Hiccup came and sat next to his father, "What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Well," Stoic put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder, "as you know, the annual Viking tournament is coming up next month and, like last year, you will be in charge of the new dragon events."

"Yeah," Hiccup confirmed, obviously this wasn't what Stoic had summoned him for.

"Well, with you being married and all, having taken another step closer to becoming our future chief, I thought I'd give you some more responsibility. I've decided that, this year, you will be in charge of the entire tournament."

Hiccup's stare was blank, his mouth opened and closed. The entire tournament? He had to be joking. That was a ton of responsibility. Oh, Astrid was not going to like this.

Stoic laughed reassuringly, "Don't worry, Gobber has been in charge of it more than once, so he and I will guide you through it. Now, how is the new Mrs. Haddock?"

Hiccup shook his head to get a hold of himself. Astrid? She's doing great, as tough and energetic as ever."

Stoic could tell that there was something Hiccup hadn't said, but did not press it. "Well, I guess I shouldn't keep you from her too long. Go on home and get some rest. Tomorrow preparation begins."

When Hiccup got home, he found Astrid sharpening one of her battle axes as she waited for him.

"How did it go?" She asked.

Hiccup sighed. "Dad has put me in charge of the entire Viking tournament."

Astrid hesitated for a second, "That would take up a lot of your time and attention."

"I know it will."

The blonde Viking huffed, "That man! Doesn't he understand that you and I have barely been married two weeks?"

"He thinks that our marriage means I'm ready for it. He said he and Gobber would help me through it, but I don't see why you can't come along."

Astrid thought for a second, "Fine, I guess it can't be helped. Here," she reached for Hiccup's hand, "let's go to bed."

As the two were lying next to each other, the unspoken subject entered their minds. Without realizing what the other was doing, they both drew in a deep breath and blurted out at the same time, "I want a baby!"

There was a stunned silence for a few seconds. Then, Hiccup rolled over to look at his wife.

"What?"

"I said that I want a baby," Astrid explained, "I want to start a family with you."

Hiccup smiled and kissed her, "So do I. It's a relief knowing that we both want one."

"Sure is."

Hiccup smiled as he kissed her again, "I love you, Astrid."

She kissed him back, "I love you too, Hiccup."

And so, another typical day of wedded bliss ended for the couple.

*

The next few weeks were spent planning and organizing the tournament. Hiccup was surprised by how similar it was to planning the wedding. They had to figure out how many people would be there, how much food they would need, what supplies would be necessary, etc. Hiccup also had to learn everything he could about the different events so that he could organize a timetable of when what event would be and where. Hiccup and Astrid had agreed to wait until after the tournament to try to have the baby so that Hiccup would be better prepared to take care of Astrid.

As the Vikings were busy planning their tournament, another, darker plan was being constructed. Aries sat upon the throne of the Magus, he had been careful to not alert the Vikings with the sudden change of power. The citizens were to be executed if any of them betrayed this information to the warrior people. In front of him knelt three men wearing black cloaks.

"The Vikings are preparing a tournament," Aries began, "I have no doubt that many of the activities and events will tests of their combat abilities in one way or another. I want you to observe their abilities and report back to me. I want you to keep a special eye on Hiccup, the chief's son."

"Yes, Emperor," the three men droned.

"Go, and bring back the key to our enemies' failure."

*

The day of the tournament, Hiccup was up bright and early to preside over the events. He showed up at the chief's home, only to find Stoic already up. He had been once again talking to Gobber. The two Vikings turned to Hiccup as he entered the house.

"Hiccup reporting for duty sir," Hiccup said jokingly.

Stoic laughed, "Hahaha! Oh no, you're not presiding over this today, Hiccup. You've worked long and hard for this, now you need to go out and enjoy the day with your wife."

Astrid was thrilled to learn that Hiccup would be spending the day with her. After they had fed the dragons and had breakfast themselves, the two left to sign up for the day's activities. Astrid forced Hiccup to sign up with her in the Viking duels, and she signed up for every other physical orientated event. Hiccup signed up for all of the dragon ones, and convinced Astrid to sign up for the dragon race as well.

They were soon joined by Snotlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Fishlegs. The group headed together to the first event, ax throwing. Astrid and Snotlout were to be competing in this event. Everyone had a laugh as Snotlout threw his ax; it hit the very top of the target, knocking it over. The crowd cheered as Astrid discharged her weapon, hitting the bull's-eye. Hiccup could easily imagine the target being a shield with him standing behind it.

The next event for the group to go to was one in which they all would be participating: the Viking duel. Fishlegs lost his first duel against Hiccup, Tuffnut lost to Ruffnut, and Astrid and Snotlout won their first duels. Ruffnut was then beaten soundly by Astrid while Hiccup proved that, even with his leg, he was far more agile and skilled than Snotlout. The two moved onward, surprising the crowd. Hiccup in particular amazed them, who'd have thought that the boy who wouldn't have lasted more than a few seconds in his first round a few years ago would do so well? About ¾'s of the way through, Hiccup and Astrid faced each other in the ring. The crowd fell silent as they watched the two take up their positions.

Hiccup moved first, charging forward with his sword raised. Astrid raised her shield to block the blow, then she swung downward with her ax. The crowd ooohhed and ahhed at Hiccup as he jumped over the ax head. The two were then locked in a flurry of attacks. To the crowd, in looked almost as if they were dancing with each other. However, Astrid won. She swung forward with such force that it broke Hiccup's blade in two. The extremely dull ax hit Hiccup on the side of the head, immediately showing his defeat.

Astrid advanced onward, making it all the way to the champion, Stoic the Vast. The crowd cheered at Astrid's impressive moves. However, her balance of power and speed couldn't hold against Stoic. He knocked her shield away, and then swung at her with his giant hammer. She ducked beneath it, and came up to launch her own attack. Stoic was too fast for her, and knocked her ax away as well. Before Astrid could think of what to do next, she felt his hammer tap her on the head. The crowd screamed with cheers as Stoic held Astrid's hand into the air. Then he spoke, loud enough for only her to hear.

"I'm proud to call you my daughter-in-law."

Astrid smiled at this and began to search the crowd. When she finally found Hiccup, he was beaming at her. However, no one had noticed a hooded figure watching all of the duels.

And so the day progressed. The group of friends moved on; winning, losing, but always doing their best. Finally, they all came together to compete in the final event of the day, the dragon race. The objective of this event was to be the first to race all the way around the island, to the former dragon nest, and then back to the beach where they started.

With the blow of a giant horn, the contestants were off. Hiccup, who had flown this track many times before, made a plan with Toothless, so they stayed with the group. A Viking riding a Monstrous Nightmare took the lead to start off with. Once they reached the point where they had to fly in and out of the rocks and coves on one side of the island, however, Fishlegs and his Gronckle took the lead. They weaved easily around the huge rocks. Once they were out, Tuffnut and Ruffnut took first on their Hideous Zippleback. Upon reaching the open sea toward the dragon nest, Snotlout on his Nightmare and Astrid on Prince began to pull away from the group.

Astrid was right on Snotlout's tail, when misfortune struck. Prince, possibly the most vain dragon to ever exist, looked down and saw his reflection in the water. The Deadly Nadder just about completely stopped. Dragon after dragon soared by as Astrid yelled furiously at Prince, who just squawked and ignored her. Hiccup and Toothless, who had been in the rear, were soon approaching them.

Hiccup, who was not about to let his wife's pride be hurt because of some dragon's dumb reflection, whispered something in Toothless' ear. The dragon laughed and nodded in response. As they were approaching the blonde and her dragon, Toothless fully extended his wings and turned. The tip of his wing sliced through the water as they sped by, ruining Prince's reflection. The Nadder let out an angry roar and took off after them. It was at this point that the group was beginning to approach the foggy volcanic island.

"Alright Toothless," Hiccup said to his friend, "it's time to disappear." The black dragon purred in response as it vanished into the clouds.

All of the Vikings of Berk stood on the beach, looking toward the distant wall of clouds. Just as the sun set, Snotlout appeared. The crowd cheered as he neared and the rest of the riders appeared.

The space between Snotlout and the group was so big that he knew that they had no chance of overtaking him. "I did it, I've won!" He shouted ecstatically.

The crowd, however, murmured in wonder and fear as they noticed that Hiccup and Astrid were absent from amongst the riders. Then, just as it looked like Snotlout was going to start dancing in victory, a familiar whistling scream reached their ears. "Night Fury!" the crowd began to yell out of sheer habit as Hiccup and Toothless dived out of the clouds a good distance ahead of Snotlout. They were followed closely by an elated Astrid and an angry Prince. Toothless skidded to a halt on the beach, as Prince landed a short ways away. Astrid and Hiccup immediately dismounted and, before Prince could let out his anger on her husband and his dragon, Astrid guided the vain reptile to the water. Soon after, Snotlout and his dragon landed, the Viking loudly voicing his disappointment.

The crowd cheered as Stoic handed medals to the three and guided them to stands. As he did so, Astrid slipped her hand into Hiccups and kissed him before whispering in his ear, "Thank you for the help." Hiccup just smiled in return.

As Stoic began the closing ceremony, three hooded men slipped away into the night. As the Viking chief was giving recognition to those who helped in planning and running the tournament, Astrid once again slipped her hand into Hiccup's and rested her head on his shoulder. Hiccup let out a content sigh as he gazed at the crowd before him. _Yep_, he thought, _life couldn't be much better_.

**Finally, I'm done with this chapter. Figuring out what to put here was trickier than I expected. Anyway, next chapter we'll get the story rollin'. Please R & R!**

_**Dark Guymelef**_


	5. Chapter 5

Chp. 5

Troubled Horizon

Aries paced impatiently around the throne room. He stopped and looked up as the throne room doors opened to reveal Zak'tar, Aries' second in command and now captain of the Dragon Nights. The man approached his emperor and knelt before him.

"My liege, the monks said that the preparations are complete, they await you now."

"Finally," Aries said as he swiftly left the room, Zak'tar at his heels.

They headed to a dimly lit room. It was large and circular with several steps leading up to a raised platform in the center. In the middle of the platform was a hole that acted like an enormous caldron inside the platform. It was from here that the only light in the room was coming from, for the hole was filled with a glowing red substance. Standing around the caldron were four men wearing blood red cloaks.

Aries and Zak'tar approached the edge as Aries nodded to the monks to begin the incantation. Aries had an evil and sinister glint in his eyes that was famous for making his own men, famous for their own cruelty, shiver in fear. Zak'tar looked at his master before speaking.

"If you'll excuse me asking, my lord, but why are you doing this? It seems an awful lot to me that you're doing these Vikings a favor, granting them immortality."

"Because I want them to fall by my will and my will alone. They will only die if I will it to happen. If by some miracle the very gods themselves come to the aid of these Neanderthals, they will still suffer my wrath."

"Having a back up plan is good and all," Zak'tar continued, "but this still looks like doing them a favor to me. Many dream of becoming immortal."

"Trust me Zak'tar," Aries said as he reached his hand over the caldron, "after you live as long as I have, you find that there are many things far worse than death." He took out a dagger and brought it up to his outstretched palm, "If you let them live long enough, all humans will eventually wish to die, unless they find a motivation such as I. This way, they will either day at my hands or the hands of those I command, or they will suffer for all eternity." With that, he cut his hand. The blood dripped to the goo below, which evaporated into dark red smoke.

*

It was the first day in about a month that the island of Berk wasn't being drowned in rain. Hiccup had left to go teach his class and go fishing with Stoic, so Astrid once again found herself alone with the dragons as she went about her daily chores. She was in the process of cleaning the living room table when Toothless, who had curled up in front of the fire, began to growl and snarl menacingly. The Viking looked up in alarm and, seeing that Toothless was staring over her shoulder, spun around with her fist raised.

A hand in a silver, metal gauntlet, caught her fist. She took a step back as she stared with unbelief at the man in front of her.

"So that is how you greet strangers," Chris sounded amused.

"You! What are you doing here?" Astrid demanded.

"As ferocious as ever as well." Chris walked over and put his hand on Toothless' nose, who quieted immediately, "I'm surprised, my good dragon, you can actually see me."

"Hey! Don't ignore me! Answer my question!"

The young man turned back to Astrid, "I will if you stop yelling."

Astrid folded her arms and glared at him dangerously, "Fine."

"Good, I came here to warn you. The evil I showed you in that dream has gained power, and he will soon make his move. You must be ready. He has already cursed you and all of the Vikings of this tribe."

Astrid looked at him like he was mad, "What do you mean, 'cursed' us?"

"Well, he has granted your people immortality. He must have learned how from that witch. You will never die, unless he lets you."

Astrid scoffed, "Even if I believe you, that seems like a gift to me."

"Trust me Astrid," a note of pleading entered Chris's voice as he stepped forward, his face serious, "this man knows of fates that are far worse than death. Immortality will not be a gift."

"All right, all right," Astrid said as she began to head to the door, "I'll inform the chief about it and he'll figure out what to do."

"NO!!" Chris shouted.

Astrid looked taken aback, "Why not?"

Chris took a deep breath to calm himself, "Because no one must know that I exist. No one else can see me anyway, so they'd all think you were crazy."

Astrid open and closed her mouth a few times as she tried to think of a retort. When none came, the blonde Viking just huffed frustratedly and folded her arms, "Fine, you're right."

*

The wind whipped at Hiccup's face as the boat cut through the water. Toothless was taking turns diving in and out after fish on either side of the Viking ship. After having had his fill, the dragon landed on the deck and came to look over the young Viking's shoulder to see what he was doing. Hiccup looked up as the shadow of the dragon loomed over him.

"Hey, bud. You get enough fish for today?"

The Night Fury purred and leaned over to look at Hiccup's sketchbook. He purred and whined as he looked at the picture Hiccup had been drawing. His curiosity piqued, Stoic also came over to see what was so fascinating.

The large man let out a low whistle, "That is an extremely good likeness to her."

Hiccup let out a sigh as he gazed at the picture of Astrid, "Yes, it does. I don't think I'll ever be able to capture her full beauty though."

Stoic sighed inwardly. _Still the attention span of a sparrow_, he thought, _take him fishing and he starts drawing pictures of his wife._

When the other Vikings started shouting for help, the two Haddocks ran to their aid. It took eight Vikings to pull the net full of fish onto the deck. Hiccup had to get Toothless away from the pile, but not before he had snuck one into his mouth. The dragon then turned around and spread his wings, looking back at Hiccup expectantly.

As Hiccup mounted the dragon, he felt a strong hand on his arm. He looked down to see Stoic holding out a piece of parchment to him. "Here," his father said, "I asked someone else who is also skilled at drawing to draw this. I think you and Astrid should have it."

Hiccup took the parchment and looked at it. The picture was of him and Astrid kissing at their wedding ceremony. He turned to his father, "Thank you, Dad. This means a lot to me." Then, the rider and his dragon shot off into the sky.

Toothless dived, somersaulted, and spun, ecstatic to be able to fly again for the first time in a month. Hiccup also reveled in the excitement that came with flying his dragon. They flew below the rooftops of the town, enjoying the thrill that came from the fast paced flying and quick maneuvering that made them the best duo in all of Berk. They soared past Ruffnut and Tuffnut on their Zippleback. The two were arguing, as usual. They stopped long enough to wave before yelling at each other over who was more irritating.

Toothless glided onto the grass behind the house. Hiccup dismounted and led the way inside. He found Astrid staring out a window that overlooked the town, deep in thought. When she felt his strong arms encircle her from behind, the woman sighed and leaned into her husband's embrace.

"I'm back," Hiccup whispered into her ear lovingly.

"Yes, you are," Astrid replied as she brought her hands up to rest on his.

"Is something wrong? You look like you have something on your mind," Hiccup's voice was filled with concern.

"I was just thinking…" Astrid hesitated before continuing, "maybe we should hold off on having a child. I don't know why, but I just feel that we should wait." This was half true, but she did know why she felt like they needed to wait.

Hiccup was silent for a moment before tightening his embrace and saying softly into her ear, "Alright. If that's what you want, then that's what I want too." He quickly kissed her on the cheek before asking, "You know, it's awfully nice outside, do you want to go for a walk?"

Astrid smiled at his attempt to distract her, "Sure, I'd love to."

The couple strode through the village, hand in hand. They waved to friends and neighbors, chatted with random people; they even watched Fishlegs destroy Snotlout in a game of Tafl. They helped a shepherd tend to his flock of sheep, mostly keeping nosy dragons away. They decided to head for Stoic's, and stopped by the forge on their way up.

"Ah, nice of you to drop by and visit. I was beginning to wonder if you had forgotten I existed," Gobber teased.

Hiccup sheepishly mumbled an apology to his old mentor, who just laughed back at him. "Know need to worry, I was only teasin'. So, what brings yeh here?"

"We were just taking a walk," Astrid explained, "and thought we'd drop by."

"Oh, well, thank you for the thought. By the way, Hiccup, how's that leg of yours doin'?"

"It's doing great," Hiccup said as he stuck out his prosthetic foot.

"That's good, it's always nice to know that my handiwork is doing its job."

*

"My lord," Zak'tar said as he knelt before the Emperor, "all the forces that you have requested have finished gathering at Berk. They await your command."

"Finally," Aries stood from the throne, "now we shall see just how powerful these Vikings and their pets are. Ready my ship for departure, and have Shadow Fire brought on board."

Zak'tar gulped at the thought of the beast, "Yes my lord. Are you sure about this? The Vikings are brave warriors, and their village is crawling with dragons."

"You ask too many questions Zak'tar. Very well, I will tell you. The Vikings are used to fighting dragons, which only attacked out of their own self-defense. Their main purpose was to steal food. These "warriors" have never fought a force bent on their destruction. They will melt away before our army."

"And what of Hiccup and his dragon? Their skill rivals that of the Dragon Knights."

Aries smiled wickedly as he curled his hand into a fist, "I will take care of him."

*

Hiccup knocked on his father's door as he and Astrid reached it. Stoic opened the door and smiled at the two in front of him.

"Hiccup! Astrid! Why are you here?" He asked happily.

"We were just taking a walk and decided to visit you," his son answered.

"Well, I was just about to head over to the tavern for dinner, if you'd like to join me."

"Sure," Astrid replied, "where else would we go?"

The three turned and began to head down the hill to the tavern. They talked about what was going on in each other's lives, getting caught up. Stoic, who spoke with his son on a daily basis, asked Astrid how she was enjoying married life. Astrid just leaned into Hiccup and called it a "dream."

Once in the tavern, they all had dinner, since the sun was beginning to set. They spent their time chatting, Stoic telling stories from either his or Hiccup's childhood and Hiccup's mother while he and his son played Merels (Nine Man's Morris).

"Oohohoh, hahaha!" The Viking chief burst into laughter as Astrid finished telling a story about her own father. "That reminds me of something Hiccup did when he was little…" Hiccup groaned as his father launched into a story of one of Hiccup's 'hunts' for trolls. Unbeknownst to the chief, his son was about to win the game, if it hadn't have been for a Terrible Terror that suddenly skidded across the board, essentially taking Hiccup's victory. Of course, this only caused Stoic to laugh harder and Hiccup to groan again and he let his head hit the table.

"Which reminds me," Stoic's words cut through Hiccup's mind, "what did you think of the picture Astrid?"

Hiccup's head shot off the table as he turned to look at his wife. He had completely forgotten about the picture. Astrid just looked confused, "Picture? What picture?"

Stoic gasped as he turned to his son, "You mean you haven't shown her? You've had plenty of time, why didn't you show her?"

"Show me what?" Astrid cut in before Hiccup could answer. She gave Hiccup a suspicious glare as smiled sheepishly and reached into the pocket of his vest.

"I'm sorry, Astrid. I had completely forgotten about it." He pulled out the drawing Stoic had given him earlier and handed it to her. As Astrid looked at it, her eyes began to shine.

"Oh, it's beautiful Stoic." She said.

"I was going to keep it, but I thought that it should belong to you two."

"Thank you," Astrid replied.

Stoic left a short time later, saying he had to get up early the next morning. When Astrid and Hiccup got outside, Astrid immediately and turned and punched Hiccup on the shoulder.

"That's for forgetting about the picture," she scolded, to which Hiccup began to protest.

"Look, Astrid, I said I was sor—," Hiccup was cut short as Astrid grabbed him and brought his lips to hers.

"And that's for everything else," she said. She giggled at the dazed look on the other Viking's face. Hand in hand, they began to walk home.

Just as they reached the doorstep to their home, Hiccup kissed Astrid on the cheek. "You're it!" He called as he took off around the house, laughing. Astrid just smiled and began to play along. She had wondered why he even bothered running as she was in far better shape than he was. She soon learned as Hiccup jumped, ran, and dodged around and in between some rocks and trees behind the house. Finally, Astrid lunged, tackling Hiccup. They rolled from the tree line into the grass between the trees and their house.

When they stopped, Hiccup found himself on top. As he looked into his wife's eyes, his breath was taken away. The way the moonlight shown in her eyes mesmerized him. Astrid looked up and got lost in his emerald green. Hiccup leaned in, and the two kissed. Once their lips touched, it was like a dam that had been holding back their love and emotions broke, and the kiss became passionate. Any thoughts Astrid had had from the events of earlier that day were chased away, replaced solely by thoughts of her love for her husband. When they finally separated to catch their breath, they just stared at each other.

"I love you, Astrid," Hiccup said quietly.

"I love you too, Hiccup," Astrid replied as she brought him back in for another kiss.

**I apologize that this chapter's so much shorter than the previous one. It's going to be a challenge to top that. Thanks for the reviews, they're great! Don't forget to keep them coming. Next chapter we'll see what Aries has planned for our heroes!**

**Until then,**

**Dark Guymelef**


	6. Chapter 6

Chp. 6

The Drums of War

Night was falling on the island of Berk. The sun was setting, causing Hiccup and Toothless to be nothing more than silhouettes in the sky. Astrid said she had something she needed to talk to her mother about, so Hiccup had decided to take the Night Fury flying. Thinking that a change of scenery would be interesting, he decided to head for the volcanic island that once was home to the dragons of Berk.

Stoic was in the Vikings' meeting hall at the base of the huge rock that towered above the village with Gobber and his second in command, Snotlout's father. They were discussing issues involving the coming winter, which was only a few months away.

Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut were at the dragon-training arena with a whole bunch of other Vikings and their dragons. They were doing anything from showing off moves their dragons had learned, to hosting small duels.

Fishlegs was by his home, trying to see if he could get his Gronckle to fire more than six shots if he ate more rocks. So far, he had found that the shots did get bigger, and caused a lot more than just a fire.

Astrid, as we already mentioned, was at her parents' home. They feared that her mother had become terminally ill. However, since it was unconfirmed, she didn't want to tell Hiccup that. She knew how worried and concerned he would get. She felt slightly guilty for sending him away, but she knew it was for the best.

Indeed, it seemed like it was going to be a normal ending to a perfectly normal day for the Viking tribe. Vikings came and went from the tavern. The streets themselves began to empty. The night guard prepared for their watch, grumbling and complaining. To them, it was just the ending to another day. On the other side of the island, however, was a different story.

*

The Magus village of Berk was eerily quiet. It had been a long and noisy day, and now all of the civilians locked themselves up in their homes as silence fell. The only sound that could be heard through the whole village was the deep growls of Shadow Fire, Emperor Aries' giant black dragon. The monster had perched on top of several rooftops, so that its master could survey the village below.

The large army assembled on the main road of the village was the main reason for both the noise earlier that day, and the silence that choked the air now. Once it was lined up in formation, the force stretched from the village gate all the way to the docks. There was all manner of creatures lined up here. Humans accounted for most of it, but now other humanoid creatures stood in the ranks. Orks, trolls, and goblins; the secret races of the Magus. They all adorned full plated black armor, which only enhanced their sinister look. Torches dotted the formation, since night was falling.

Aries smiled at the scene before him. Never before in this world had a force like this been assembled. He sighed inwardly. _Finally_, he thought, _some excitement_. He reveled in the tension that filled the air. His men were ready, he could feel it.

"My liege," Grock, the orcish commander of this legion, bowed on one of the flat rooftops before the Emperor and his giant beast, "the men are ready, we await your command."

"Good," Aries said darkly, "if that is the case commander, then let sound the drums."

Grock stood and turned to the formation below. With a nod of his head, the gates began to open, and with a _brum-brum-brum_, the drums of war began to play.

*

It was long past midnight, the Vikings had all gone to bed, aside from the night guard that is. However, a night guard does you no good when they are being silently picked off one by one by a creature they can neither hear nor see. With no night guard, no one was around to notice the flickering lights of the torches as the Magus army readied itself for attack. They were lined up along the village's three land access routes: a series of wooden bridges connecting large rocks between the village and the main isle, the dragon training arena, and the strip of land connecting the village itself to the main island. They all sat in silence as they waited for the signal.

Hiccup couldn't sleep. He didn't know why, but something was bothering him. He had a strange feeling that something was wrong. He got up, deciding that he needed a drink. There was a well that was conveniently placed right next to the Haddocks' home.

Aries and Night Fire flew a ways away from the village before banking around. This gave the giant dragon plenty of time to align itself so that it would be flying above the village length wise, allowing for maximum damage. As they approached it, the dragon gave out a mighty roar before white fire flew from its jaws, lighting a large portion of houses on fire. This was what his men had been waiting for. As they saw the flames rise above the rooftops, they charged.

Hiccup had been enjoying the cool air whilst drinking his water. Upon hearing the roar, he looked up and saw the village being engulfed in flames. The young Viking's mind froze for a few moments. Then, he bolted inside to wake Astrid. Berk was once again at war!

By the time Hiccup and Astrid had gotten their weapons and shields, Toothless and Prince had already busted down the front door. They found the dragons waiting for them outside. Toothless was surveying the sky, growling; while Prince ran in circles squawking angrily. The dragons turned to their masters as they came out the door.

"You find my dad and figure out what's going on!" Hiccup shouted to Astrid as they mounted their dragons. By now, the entire village was awake, and were engaging the enemy ground troops.

"And what about you?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup looked down at Toothless before answering, "We've got a dragon to take care of." With that, the rider and Night Fury vanished into the night.

Prince ran along the rooftops of the housed, jumping from one to the other like a raptor hunting its prey. Astrid looked down occasionally as they hopped from one roof to another. She saw the other Vikings and their dragons fighting against well-armored soldiers. She didn't recognize whom their attackers were, but was surprised to find that not all of them were human. Some were short, with pointy ears and green or black skin, while others were really tall with wood-colored skin and a piggish face.

They were almost there; Astrid could see the chief's house through the smoke and fire. Suddenly, the roof that they were on collapsed beneath them. Astrid screamed as she fell to the wooden floor below. She was lucky to hit the floor first. Her shield had luckily gotten stuck, saving her from being buried like Prince under a pile of burning wood. As she wrenched her arm away from the shield and looked around, Astrid realized that the whole front half of the house had caved in. The street now lay before her, on which she now saw one of the green skinned creatures, its bow drawn and ready to launch an arrow at her.

The Viking was about to duck out of the way when she saw what she had guessed to be the creature's smile turn into a look of fear as it began to slowly step away. Astrid looked at the pile of burning rubble behind her and saw Prince's tail snaking its way into the air. In the blink of an eye, the tail lashed out, unleashing a storm of spikes into the short creature. The thing howled as it was blown off its feet, and then it was still.

"Thanks," Astrid said as she turned back to the pile from which Prince was emerging. The dragon just squawked in reply.

Astrid and Prince charged out onto the dirt road. A passing soldier turned and swung forward with his sword at Astrid. She parried the blow, then swung down with her ax, dislodging the sword from the soldier's hold. She charged at the defenseless human, yelling her best war cry as the adrenaline awoke the true Viking in her blood. Astrid swung, her ax connecting with the man's side and knocking him to the ground.

Meanwhile, Prince scorched anything that tried to get near Astrid or himself. The Nadder cackled as it jumped to the side when one of the soldiers tried to hit him with an ax. With lightning reflexes, the dragon turned and made the soldier a human torch.

Astrid struck down one of the blackish creatures and turned around. While her dragon had been focusing on the soldiers in front of him, two spearmen had approached him from behind. They weren't getting too close, as the spiked tail swayed back and forth dangerously. One of them readied to throw his spear.

"NO!" Astrid cried, as the man pulled his arm back. Before he could do anything else, however he and his companion were blasted away by a fireball from overhead. Astrid looked up to see Fishlegs on his Gronckle. They were flying just below the tops of the houses.

"Need some help?" Fishlegs called as his dragon launched another fireball at a group of soldiers.

"Sure, thanks," Astrid called back before turning to face more oncoming soldiers.

As the clanging of metal and the screams of war wrent the air, the village of Berk burned like it had never done before. The Vikings turned out to be far more formidable warriors than Aries had anticipated. However, they were still falling to the numbers of the Magus army. Aries did not like this. At this rate, the Vikings would all be killed and he would have none to enslave. He needed to end this and now. There was one way he could do that. So, he took off in search of Hiccup.

How ironic it was that Aries and Hiccup were hunting each other with no success. They were to only ones to soar through the sky, because they were the only ones that camouflaged with the night and the smoke. As Hiccup and Toothless pulled away from the flaming village once again, Hiccup noticed something he had overlooked before. From the light of the fire, he could see more and more troops crossing the small, wooden bridges to get into the town.

"Alright Toothless, let's take those bridges out."

The dragon growled in reply as he came around and dived towards the nearest bridge, his wings folded into his body. As the troops crossing the bridge heard the whistling sound of the Night Fury, they turned to fire arrows in its general direction. They were too late, however, as with a flare of blue the bridge exploded, its occupants screaming as they fell into the sea.

With two more flashes of blue, the unholy offspring of lightning and death severed one of the enemies' routes into the village. As they came around to head back into the smoke rising above Berk, Hiccup noticed masses of enemies crossing the bridge that led to the dragon-training arena. At the end of the bridge, Hiccup saw a large number of Vikings and their dragons holding off the coming horde. Among them, Hiccup recognized Snotlout, Tuffnut, and Ruffnut.

"Ok bud, let's go help them out," Hiccup commanded as they pulled into a whistling dive.

The soldiers crossing the bridge turned and looked up into the night. Many turned and began to fire shafts of arrows into the sky. They began to panic, however, as the whistling sound became ever louder and shriller. There was another flash of blue and a huge hole exploded into the center of the bridge. Toothless pulled out of the dive and soared over the enemies' heads, close enough to knock some into the sea.

Snotlout waved at Hiccup to show his appreciation before returning his attention to the remains of the oncoming enemies. He charged forward, waving his mace in the air. He brought it crashing down on one enemy's head before swinging it into yet another. He swung blindly at another enemy, only to have the mace bounce dangerously off the man's shield. Snotlout stared in horror as his opponent prepared to strike. Before he could get a swing off, Firedrake, Snotlout's Monstrous Nightmare, caught him in his jaws. The dragon swallowed the armor clad figure whole before spraying a jet of fire into the ranks of his comrades.

A bright flash to the left lit the night as Tuffnut and Ruffnut's dragon, Pisces, ignited a cloud of flammable vapor. The dragon's masters cheered in delight as they jabbed and smacked their opponents with their double-ended spears. Since they always had to compete against each other, the twins were counting their victims.

"Twenty-two… twenty-three," Tuffnut counted as he smacked one across the head with his spear.

"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!" Ruffnut shouted as she clobbered enemy after enemy.

Despite their success, the Vikings were slowly being overcome. Snotlout watched as one Viking charged, hammer raised, into the horde, only to be stabbed by the nearest swordsman. Their dragons were running out of shots too. There was a cry of "fall back!" after which those who had dragons mounted them and began to fly away while the others ran on foot.

The dragon riders were caught in a hailstorm of arrows. The deadly shafts pierced dragon and Viking left and right, and they began to fall from the sky. Pisces and Firedrake barely managed to escape with their masters. They had been told to fall back to the main square.

*

Astrid sat on a pile of boxes in front of a partially burnt shop, panting. She was sweating profusely and her body couldn't stop shaking. She, Prince, Fishlegs, and some other Vikings had made it inside a barricade Stoic had had erected. The barricade surrounded the chief's house, the main square, and several other buildings. The buildings inside the barricade were the least burnt, for the most part. Those that had been severely damaged had been dismantled for weapons and reinforcing the barricade.

Prince himself was more than a little frazzled, all of the dragons were. Some wanted to get back into the fight, and were busy helping defend the barricade. Prince growled at anyone he didn't know that got within five feet of him.

Most of the Viking survivors had made it inside the barricade. Many were either dead or had been captured. Outside the barricade walls, the enemy pounded at the rock, wood, and earth that made up the hastily prepared defenses. Arrows occasionally found their way over the wall. If they were on fire, someone quickly grabbed a bucket of water and put them out.

_Is this really happening?_ Astrid thought. She looked down at her hands, which were blistering, from her ax. She could feel the slight burns and bruises, as well as a few cuts, which she had sustained. When she had come under attack, her instincts and Viking training had kicked in and she was lost to the adrenaline. Now that she had had time to rest, a shocking reality struck her. She had taken a life, not just one, but dozens. She looked at her ax. The weapon's double bladed head was chipped and covered with dried blood.

A huge hand landed gently on the woman's shoulder, making her jump. She looked up to see Stoic looking at her worriedly. "Are you ok?" her father-in-law asked.

"Y-yeah," Astrid replied, embarrassed that someone had seen her so shaken and vulnerable. A thought came to her, "Do you know where Hiccup is?"

Stoic looked to the sky, which was completely blocked by smoke, "Not for a while. He said he was going to see if he could weaken their numbers." He noticed a look of worry on Astrid's face, "Don't worry, Astrid. Hiccup is no longer a boy, he and Toothless can take care of themselves." Astrid nodded, not very reassured.

There was an unusually large 'boom', at which many of the Vikings in the square, including Astrid and Stoic, looked up. They heard another 'boom' and saw a bright flash from the other side of the barricade. The culprit soon became clear as they saw Pisces lighting large clouds of its explosive gas. Soon, Pisces, Firedrake, and a few other dragons and their Viking riders landed in the square. Astrid and Stoic, along with several others, ran to the newcomers.

"Hey Astrid!" Snotlout shouted to her, "You should have seen me! I was on fire!" He started swinging his mace about, "I was like ha, and hyah, hyahh!"

"Have any of you seen Hiccup?" both Astrid and Stoic asked at the same time once Tuffnut and Ruffnut had joined them.

As Snotlout's ego deflated, Tuffnut answered, "He was with us over by the arena, but he flew off a while ago. The place has been completely overrun."

A large ruckus floated to the Vikings in the square from the other side of the blockade a few blocks down. Astrid and the others joined a large group of Vikings and their dragons as they ran to investigate. A block away, the group ran into enemy soldiers. Once Astrid got around the corner, she saw the enemy pouring in one at a time from a small hole in the wall. From what she could see, the hole had been made by a makeshift battering ram, which now lay abandoned in front of it.

"Seal the breach!" Stoic yelled as he fought his way to the wall. He was surprisingly nimble and quick. He was so strong that he could knock away several soldiers with one swing from his giant hammer. Astrid ran to help him, but was blocked by a rather evil looking black creature.

The creature cawed, or at least it sounded like one. It lunged forward with its blood-encrusted sword, meeting Astrid's ax. It reached back and swung downward at her feet, but she jumped, swinging her ax forward as she did so. He weapon dug into the creature's collarbone, causing it to howl in pain. However, it was not done yet. It made a quick midlevel swing with its sword, causing Astrid to let go of her ax and jump back. She punched the thing in the face as hard as she could, knocking it onto its butt and breaking its nose. She grabbed her ax and was about to swing at its head when it disappeared into Prince's toothy maw.

By now the hole had been repaired and the reinforcements were heading back to the square. Astrid had just turned to follow when a tremendous roar echoed throughout the village. She turned around just in time to see the barricade and several of the surrounding houses be engulfed in a sheet of white-hot flames. She ducked instinctively as something huge flew overhead; it's large, beating wings spreading the flames as it did so. She heard it annihilate the other end of the barricade and turned around just in time to see a horde of enemies pouring over the ruined wall. She joined the others in charging forward, yelling at the top of her lungs.

Her ax connected with a metal shield just as the house next to her burst into flames. She was exhausted, and angry that she still had to push herself. This fuelled her into a berserk rage, and hit her attacker so hard that he flew back a few feet. She continued to charge into the coming black mass, slashing and hacking at any black thing she saw.

Soon, a pile of armored bodies surrounded Astrid. Exhausted, the young Viking warrior turned around, looking up at the sky. The sight that met her eyes shocked her tired and sluggish mind back into overdrive. High in the sky, soaring back to make another pass on the Vikings, was an enormous black dragon.

And it had glowing, red eyes.

**Well, here you go. I'm getting exhausted just writing it. Quite the cliffhanger, (heh, heh, heh) don't you think? Thanks for the reviews as always, you guys really are half of my motivation!**

_**Dark Guymelef**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**(Note: For some of you this chapter may be hard to read. Just please bear with me and know that this is not the last chapter.)**_

Chp. 7

Loss and Hope

The monster seemed to be glaring at her. It fully extended its large wings and began its descent on the town. Astrid watched as a white glow grew from the creature's jaws. It was going to fry everyone. Then, she heard a familiar scream and saw another black mass appear from the pillars of smoke.

*

After having helped Snotlout and the others, Hiccup and Toothless took off once again in search of Aries and his dragon. As he flew towards his father's house, Hiccup found the hastily built barricade. He flew down into the square, where Stoic ran up to him.

"Son! Thank goodness you're all right. Where's Astrid?" Stoic asked.

A frown and a look of worry crossed Hiccup's face, "You mean you haven't seen her? When she separated she was coming to see you."

Before Stoic could respond, a Viking from the other side of the barricade approached them. "Sir," the Viking said, "there's too many of them. Even if we can manage to build the barricade, it won't hold against them."

"Well, do it anyway! We at least have to try," Stoic ordered. As the Viking turned and left, Hiccup turned to his father.

"I'll go and try to thin their numbers," the young man said.

Stoic did not question him, he only put a hand on his son's good leg and said, "Good luck, and don't worry about Astrid. I'm sure she's fine." He received no response as Toothless flew into the air.

Hiccup and his dragon flew in the direction of the other wall of the barricade. Once the smoke cleared, he saw that their enemy did indeed have far more troops than the Vikings could handle. While most of the soldiers inside the village were fighting against someone, the flickers of many torches on the small strip of land that connected the village to the main island told Hiccup that there were still hundreds more.

"Toothless," Hiccup's voice was commanding and full of confidence, but there was something else hidden in it, was it excitement? "Let's go get them."

The Night Fury growled and flew up into the clouds. Then, he folded his wings in and dived. Again, a storm of arrows rose into the air to meet them. However, as no one could clearly see where the dragon was, they all missed. Toothless fired into the black mass before turning and rising again. Hiccup looked back in time to see a large explosion light the night and small black specks go flying everywhere.

"Yeah!" Hiccup punched the air in excitement as they turned and began to dive again, coming from a different direction.

There was another flash of blue, and once again a burst of fire lit the darkness. Panicking, the troops began to rush toward the town, tripping and stumbling over each other as they did so. Hiccup and Toothless continued to dive at them, failing to ever miss. One lucky arrow did manage to find Hiccup's shield, however.

After a while of doing this, Hiccup could no longer continue his bombardment for fear of hitting other Vikings. So, he guided Toothless out to the open sea. They hadn't gotten very far when a terrible roar rose over the din of the battle. Hiccup turned just in time to see a huge black dragon spray the village with a white column of flame. Now was his chance! Toothless growled and, as if he had read Hiccup's mind, began to dive toward the black demon.

It was just about to launch another attack on the barricaded part of the village when Toothless collided with the other dragon's underside. The two wrestled in the air, Toothless scratching and biting furiously at the monster's belly while it roared in rage and tried to swat the annoyance away. Hiccup held himself as tight to Toothless as he could, but it was no use. One of the larger dragon's scaly front legs found its attacker and batted it away.

Hiccup was disconnected from Toothless. As his dragon was thrown into the air, the Viking fell toward the village below. Hiccup put his shield out in front of him and landed on it with a thud and a crack. The pain in his arm told him it was broken. However, Hiccup had no time to do anything about it, because he had landed in the middle of the melee by the ruined barricade.

He got up and drew his sword just in time to stab an odd, butt-ugly green creature through the chest when it tried to hit him with a hammer. Giving his best war cry, Hiccup ran into the fray. Most of the Vikings that had been in the area were now burnt to a crisp thanks to the other dragon's attack. Even with his broken arm and prosthetic limb, Hiccup was more skilled and agile than his opponents. He dodged, parried, and slashed.

One soldier struck at Hiccup with his sword. The Viking parried the blow, and swung at the man's leg. With a cry, the man fell to the ground, from which he stabbed upwards with his sword. The blade hit Hiccup's shield, jarring his broken arm. All the pain did was provoke a merciless anger inside him, which he used to kill the attacker and move on.

Then, Hiccup heard something he hadn't heard for two years. It was a roar of pain. The young Viking looked to the sky in time to see Toothless fly and crash into one of the burning buildings beyond the broken barricade. Immediately overhead, the giant dragon roared in the building's direction. Hiccup then saw something fall from the dragon's back, and turned around to see what it was.

He realized it was a human when the man's blade, which was pointed down, burst through a Viking's raised shield, piercing the shield's owner. Aries yanked his sword from the dead Viking and threw the shield into a nearby fire. He looked around until he found Hiccup. Hiccup gasped as he saw the man's face. He had short, black hair, blood-red eyes, and his face was contorted into a malicious smile. With a very inhuman yell, Aries charged forward, striking at Hiccup with his sword.

Hiccup parried the blow just in time. Soon, he found himself locked in a deadly duel with the demonic human, who yelled and laughed as he attacked. He had no shield, which freed him up to be far more maneuverable. He struck fast and hard, causing Hiccup to be on the defense most of the time. Any time he attempted to strike at his attacker, the man parried and countered. Judging by his appearance, his skilled swordsmanship, and the fact that he had been riding the giant dragon, Hiccup guessed that this man had to be the leader of their attackers.

"I'm impressed. Your swordsmanship is far better than one would think by looking at you," the man said as he launched attack after attack at the Viking.

Meanwhile, Astrid had finally fought her way to where she had seen Toothless and Hiccup disappear. As she stood at the crest of a small hill, a shocking site met her eyes. The houses all around her burned, the roar and crackle of the fire drowned out all other sound. Astrid felt a hot gust of wind blow into her from in front. As she looked down at what remained of the square, she spotted Hiccup immediately. He was dueling with a man with a black cape, black hair, uniquely designed armor, and a rather long and menacing sword. Hiccup was barely able to keep up with his opponent, unable to go on the offensive.

"Hiccuuupppp!" Astrid shouted as she ran down the hill. She was stopped by a man with a mace and a shield. He swung, but she ducked and rolled under his arm. She popped back up and struck at him, her ax glancing off his shield. He swung again, but Astrid jumped out of the way. She spun around and struck again, only to meet the soldier's shield.

As Astrid fought the soldier, Hiccup continued to defend himself. Once, he saw an opening and lunged at his attacker's head. The man dodged to the side, using his sword to knock away Hiccup's blade. Almost immediately, he swung at Hiccup's own head, missing by mere centimeters. The man growled as he kicked Hiccup's shield, shaking the broken arm and causing Hiccup enough pain to wince and cringe. That was nothing to what he was about to feel, however, because Aries saw an opportunity and took it. He knocked away the young Viking's sword, and then lunged forward with his own.

It was that precise moment that Astrid looked up from the body she had struck to the ground. She heard her husband gasp in pain as Aries' sword pierced his shoulder. She watched, stunned, as the tip came out the other end. Hiccup dropped his sword. Laughing, Aries withdrew his own sword and prepared to strike again.

With a roar, Stoic charged out of the flames. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY SON!!" The Viking chief yelled as he tackled Aries. The two wrestled across the ground, Aries punching and kicking, having lost his sword when Stoic tackled him, while Stoic pounded at him with his hammer.

Astrid ran forward, catching Hiccup just as he fell backwards. He was pale and clammy, obviously in shock. Blood trickled down his arm and side from the wound in his shoulder. Seeing her face, Hiccup attempted to speak, but couldn't find his voice. Astrid could just barely make out her name as he mouthed something to her.

"Yes! Yes, Hiccup, I'm here now. You have no need to worry."

She looked around and saw Stoic and Aries on their feet. Stoic was swinging his hammer back and forth, trying to catch the nimble man. Aries was too quick, however, and cart wheeled backwards; his foot catching Stoic's chin. The Viking stumbled back as Aries rolled to his feet, retrieving his sword in the process. With an unearthly yell, he charged and jumped, his sword pointing down. His feet landed on Stoic's chest and the Viking gave a cry of pain as the sword pierced one of the metal plates connecting his cape to his clothes.

As Stoic fell on his back with Aries on top of him, a rage built up inside Astrid. After gently laying Hiccup on the ground, she rose, her ax in hand. With a roar, she flung the ax with all her might. With his lightning reflexes, Aries pulled his sword from Stoic's shoulder and blocked the spinning ax. However, the weapon just glanced off the sword and kept spinning, slicing into Aries' shoulder as it did so.

Aries yelled in pain and anger. He looked up and Astrid found herself staring into blood-red eyes. Immediately, the man that Chris had shown her came to mind. So this was him! She attempted to run forward, but realized with a jolt of fear that her body couldn't move. She was frozen still, staring into the red eyes that were so full of hate.

Aries lifted his hand, palm facing her. It looked like he was trying to get grab her from where he stood. Suddenly, what fire began to gather in his hand, forming a perfect, smooth sphere. It looked like it was made of glass with fire inside it. However, the ball was shrinking and growing brighter. Astrid didn't know what it was, but it couldn't have been good.

Suddenly, Astrid felt something shove her away. Having been ripped from Aries' gaze, she could move freely again. She looked at what had shoved her, and could see Hiccup, his gaze fixed on Aries. She turned to look at Aries. His frown had now become a wicked grin. Astrid knew what was about to happen.

What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion in Astrid's eyes. With a sound that sounded very much like Toothless when he would open fire, the little fireball blasted away from Aries' hand like a fiery bullet. It blasted right through Hiccup's shield like it wasn't even there. Hiccup shuddered as the… thing blasted into his body, leaving a small, bloody hole right where his heart should be. It blasted through to the other side, where it imploded, releasing a shockwave so powerful, it threw Astrid several feet and crushed the nearest house.

"NO!" Astrid cried as the shockwave hit her. She immediately struggled to her feet, and looked where Hiccup had been. A wave of fear hit her as all she saw where Hiccup had been was his mangled prosthetic, which looked like it had been stepped on.

"Hiccup. No, Hiccup!" Astrid cried as she looked around frantically. She found his body laying several feet in the opposite direction than she had flown, a pool of blood flowing out from beneath him. With a cry, Astrid began to run to his body. She screamed and struggled in protest as she felt two pairs of strong arms grab her from behind and begin to drag her away. She screamed and cursed whomever it was that was pulling her away. Her eyes were so blurred by tears that she couldn't see.

She could faintly here someone off to her right say something before something hard connected with the back of her head. The struggling blonde lost consciousness immediately.

*

When she came to, Astrid found herself lying on a boat. She heard a few whispered voices nearby, which sounded like they were arguing.

"You didn't have to do that!" A woman's rough voice whispered.

"What else was I supposed to do?" A man's voice this time, "You just told me to shut her up! If I had tried to cover her mouth, I'm pretty sure she would have bit me!"

"Oh yeah?" the woman's voice retorted, "well you st—,"

Another voice, also a male, cut into the argument, "Guys! I think she's coming around."

Astrid opened her eyes and heard a squawk. Prince was standing over her, his head turned so that he could get a good look at her. Astrid sat up and looked around. She was on the only Viking ship that did not get burned. Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut were there too, as well as their dragons. It had been Ruffnut and Tuffnut that had been arguing.

"Wha—," Astrid began before whipping her head in the direction they had come from.

Most of the fire in the village had burnt out. Only the strip where the barricade had been still burned, lighting the whole village. Instantly, memories of the battle in the barricade came rushing back to her. She cried out her husband's name as she ran to the end of the boat. Immediately, the others started shouting to her. Snotlout and Tuffnut grabbed her from behind. Forcefully, they sat her down on the table-like pedestal in the center of the boat on which she had been laying.

"Astrid, calm down!" Snotlout shouted, "We can't go back there. Stoic ordered us not to!"

Astrid sat down and began to breath slowly, calming herself. Relieved that they didn't have to fight her, Snotlout and Tuffnut let go. Ruffnut then walked around the pedestal and knelt in front of Astrid.

"Listen, Astrid, you need to rest. We can't go back to the village, there's nothing else we can do. Right now we all need to rest and then figure out something. Ok?"

Astrid just nodded her head. She found it odd that Ruffnut of all people was being the calm voice of reason for once. She would have actually found it funny if they had been in a different situation. Ruffnut stood, confident that they wouldn't have to experience another outburst from the exhausted woman. She looked at the others and they each started looking for places to sleep, Snotlout volunteering to be the first on watch. Astrid sighed and laid back on the pedestal, allowing her exhaustion to overcome her and take her into a deep slumber.

*

Astrid was the last to wake up the next morning. Though they could no longer see the island of Berk, the Vikings and their dragons could still see the smoke. The dragons had already collected a whole bunch of fish for everyone. The group ate breakfast in silence. They had all lost so much, and it was just beginning to sink in.

The group spent the day discussing what they should do next, all except for Astrid that is. She just sat in one spot the whole day, not saying a word. All she did was stare in the direction of Berk. Not knowing how to deal with a widow, especially one like Astrid, the group gave her space. Prince tried to get her attention at first, but gave up and went to preening himself. When she was asked if she would take one of the shifts that night, all the blonde Viking did was nod.

So, she found herself on night watch at the helm. Everyone was asleep, which meant that now Astrid's tough façade melted away. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she thought of all she had lost, especially Hiccup. She blamed herself for his death. After everything she had done, all the training she put him through, Hiccup had made the ultimate sacrifice to save her.

"Why the sad look?" A voice from behind her questioned, causing Astrid to shriek and jump in surprise. Still everyone slumbered. She turned around and faced one of the last people she wanted to see.

"Again, why are you so sad, Astrid?" Chris asked.

Astrid gave him a look that was halfway between stupefied and furious, "What are you doing here?" She demanded, "Come to say that I failed? Well guess what? I already know that!" She was careful to keep her voice down so as to avoid waking the others.

Chris sighed and gave her a look of pity before he said anything, "You poor woman. Did his death really shake you that much? So much that you would rather wallow in your pain than seek revenge on the man that so cruelly took your husband from you?"

Even if she hadn't just experienced what she had, what Chris had said would still have only worked to anger her, "Well excuse me Mr. Insensitive," she glared at him and folded her arms, "what do you want me to do? If I remember correctly, the witch said that Hiccup would be the one to take that man down. And now, the love of my life is dead and all hope of defeating his murderer with him."

Chris raised an eyebrow at her, "You assume that nothing can be done. Don't you remember me telling you that you are the key to Hiccup's fate just as he is the key to the world's?"

Astrid just huffed and walked briskly over to the side of the ship. She didn't want this annoying man to see the tears that were threatening to fall. After a moment, Chris came over and joined her, his back leaning against the railing. He watched her for a few moments before sighing and shaking his head.

"Oh geez Astrid," Chris turned his head back to her, "Alright, what if I was to tell you that there is a way that you can bring Hiccup back?"

Astrid turned and gave him a look of disbelief, "I'd say that you were nuts," though she said that, her eyes betrayed her hope.

"Well, as it happens, there is a way that you, and only you, can bring back poor Hiccup… with some help of course."

Astrid just stared at him for a moment, not sure if she dared believe, "How?"

"The witch that told Aries how to get his powers, her name is Zagala. She would know how to bring your precious husband back to life." Astrid gave him a look that said she did not believe him, "Trust me, why would I lie to you? It may be for different reasons, but I want Aries dead as much as you do."

Astrid was silent as a battle raged in her mind. Finally, she spoke, "How do I find her?"

Chris smiled, "Well, first things first. You guys need to rescue Toothless."

*

When the others woke the next morning, they were surprised to see Astrid at the helm, absolutely beaming. When asked why she was so happy, Astrid said one thing.

"Guys, I have a plan."

As the others laughed and cheered, Astrid reveled in the hope that filled her frame. Yes, there was hope. There was hope because Astrid would go to the very depths of Hell itself to bring her husband back.

**_Whew, I'm tired. So Hiccup's dead, but the adventure has only just begun. Next chapter will focus on the rescue of Toothless and finding some unexpected allies. _**

**_Until then,_**

**_Dark Guymelef_**


	8. Chapter 8

Chp. 8

Dragons and Scalawags

The ships that the Magus used dwarfed those of the Vikings. They had three masts, a large deck, the captain's cabin, and two large lower levels. Plenty of room to keep anything from dragons to large numbers of troops. This also made an assault from a much smaller vessel extremely difficult, particularly since the dragons couldn't fly.

It had been surprisingly easy for Astrid to convince the others that, one; the Magus had been the attackers the night before; and, two, why the dragons couldn't fly. While she made it sound like she had found out through simple logic, the Magus were the only ones left on Berk and they could be looking for survivors, it had actually been Chris who told her. When she thought back on it, it did make sense. Convincing the others on how to save Hiccup without making herself look like a nutcase would be another thing entirely.

So now, the group sat silently in their ship as it drifted forward noiselessly. It had been six days since the battle; the past three had been spent spying on the Magus. They had learned that most of the dragons lost in the battle had not actually been killed at all. The reptiles had been merely stunned and taken away. There was a large facility near the Magus village, which was now a military base, in which the dragons were kept. This was how they found out about Toothless' solitary departure aboard one of the massive Magus ships. The group had followed a distance behind the large vessel, only approaching when both had vanished into the thick morning fog.

The fog was so thick that, once they reached the other ship, the Vikings couldn't see the deck railing from their boat. Chris had told Astrid that halfway up the side of the ship would be a row of windows. The plan was to have Astrid, Tuffnut, and Ruffnut climb inside the windows and make their way to the deck. Once there, they would take out the guards on one side so that Fishlegs and Snotlout could climb aboard with the dragons. Once they had regrouped, the Vikings planned to fight their way to the bottom level, where Toothless was most likely being held.

Once the side of the Viking boat touched the large Magus ship, Astrid began to climb. She got to the window sooner than expected, and looked through it. Pushing it aside, she climbed onto the ship. She looked around as Tuffnut and Ruffnut climbed in after her.

They were inside a room that looked like it was being used to contain loot from Berk. This pretty much amounted to only being weapons, as the Vikings really had nothing else of value besides their dragons. She quickly picked up the best looking ax and motioned for the other two to do the same. Tuffnut grabbed a spear, while Ruffnut grabbed a single bladed ax.

Astrid slowly opened the door just enough for her to see through it. Upon seeing that no one was around, she opened it fully and stepped into the hall. Only then did she realize just how big this ship was, as the hall extended for quite a ways in both directions. At the end of the hall on both ends were doors that led to the other sections of the ship. Chris had told her that the stairs would be in the back section.

Astrid led the group towards the back door. The crept along as silently as they could, ducking behind the random barrels and boxes in the hall. Every time a voice or a gale of laughter would float into the hall from somewhere else on the ship, they would freeze. Occasionally the boat would say dangerously, causing at least one of them to lose their balance.

They were almost to the door when they heard a loud creaking sound from behind them. The three whipped around to see one of the doors that opened into the hall opening behind them. At Astrid's signal, the three ducked into the nearest cranny, which had a window and two shovels. The soon heard staggering footsteps as a soldier clanked and creaked over to them. He was mumbling to himself and, judging by the slur in his speech, he was drunk.

Tuffnut shifted nervously, causing one of the shovels to fall. The noise alerted the drunken man, and he began to stagger over to them. "W-who dere?" He called out.

The soldier was almost to the cranny when Astrid hurriedly grabbed a shovel. She waited until she could see the tip of the man's nose before swinging with all her might. The drunk got a face full of shovel, and keeled over backwards. Astrid threw Tuffnut a glare as she dropped the shovel.

"C'mon, we can just leave him here. If someone finds him then we're blown," Astrid said as she reached down and grabbed the limp soldier. With the help of Tuffnut and Ruffnut, they managed to hoist him up and throw him out of the window.

The group then continued to the back. Once they opened the door, they found themselves in a kind of large storage room. At the other end was another door, which had to have the stairs behind it. Once they opened that door, the Vikings found two flights of stairs. The one on their left went up to the deck, while the one on their right proceeded down to the bottom level.

Cautiously, the three crept up to the deck. Luckily, if anything, the fog had actually gotten thicker. They crept to the side of the ship that their boat was on and followed the railing until they found the first guard. The three immediately set about looking for a way to distract him. Astrid found a hammer while Tuffnut found a rock. When Astrid nodded to him, Tuffnut threw the rock as hard as he could. It hit the water with a _plunk_ loud enough to catch the guard's attention. As he looked over the railing to find the source of the sound, he didn't the hammer that was spinning through the air towards him. The flying object connected with the back of his head, sending him overboard.

They repeated the process with the next guard, and the next, and the next. When they had finally reached the front of the ship, the group retraced their steps, carefully watching over the side of the railing. Finally, they saw what looked like a dark mass in the foggy gloom. Astrid leaned over the side and dropped a rock over the side of the ship. They heard a loud "OW!" and waited a few moments. Then, they began to see Firedrake scaling the side of the vessel while the others flew onto the deck. Snotlout was rubbing his foot.

"Sorry," Astrid said as he stepped down off of Firedrake.

*

While Astrid and the twins had been sneaking aboard the ship, Snotlout and Fishlegs had been impatiently waiting for their signal. It was when the first guard went overboard that they became alert. Snotlout stood looking up at the railing of the larger ship, waiting for Astrid to drop the rock. Fishlegs, however, had looked around when the first man fell. He saw something in the fog that caught his full, undivided attention.

With a 'woosh', the rock fell from the fog above and landed on Snotlout's foot. He issued a loud "OW!" before mounting Firedrake. He glanced over his shoulder at Fishlegs, who was still looking out to sea, pointing at something and opening and closing his mouth repeatedly.

"Fishlegs!" Snotlout whispered, the chubby Viking just glanced at him before looking back out to sea. "C'mon! The others are waiting for us." When Fishlegs didn't move, Snotlout grunted in frustration and dragged him to his Gronckle. At Snotlout's signal, they began to climb.

Once they got on the deck, Snotlout dismounted, rubbing his foot. He heard Astrid apologize. As a group, they began to sneak back toward the stairs.

Astrid was just contemplating how they were going to get the dragons down the stairs when she noticed that the fog was thinning. Several, dark shapes began to appear in the fading mist. Soon, the Vikings and their reptilian companions found themselves surrounded by Magus soldiers. They were grinning evilly at the group, chuckling to themselves as they advanced.

There was no time to lose, "Plan B, go!" Astrid shouted as the others sprang into action. Pisces began spewing out its flammable, green gas as the others ran for a large metal grate in just behind the center mast. As they ran, Chris's words seemed to echo in Astrid's mind.

"If you should need to proceed quickly and silence is no longer necessary, then use the grate just behind the center mast."

Prince and Firedrake lifted the grate from its place. Together, they threw it at the pursuing crowd of Magus. The group then dropped down onto another grate on the second level.

"The second level grate has to be pulled apart, below that is the cargo hold. If Toothless isn't in there, then he should be nearby. Keep someone near the second grate so that you have a path to escape."

While Astrid, Tuffnut, and Ruffnut helped the dragons in fighting off the guards, Snotlout and Fishlegs pulled the grate apart. Astrid, Prince, Snotlout, and Firedrake dropped into the cargo hold below while the others continued to guard the grate. The cargo hold was full of all manner of boxes, barrels, and other random items.

There was no sign of Toothless, but Prince and Firedrake knew where he was. The two dragons charged one of the walls of the room, splintering it into pieces. The screams and roars that issued from the hole told Astrid and Snotlout that their dragons were burning the guards to a crisp. By the time they got into the room, the reptiles were proceeding to burn a pile of bodies.

In the center of the room was a large cage in which Toothless was trapped. He was bound, much like he had been when Stoic had taken him to the dragon nest. Upon seeing Astrid, Toothless growled and began to struggle against his bonds in earnest.

"It's ok, Toothless. It's ok," Astrid said as she ran up to the cage. Raising her ax above her head, Astrid brought the weapon down on the lock as hard as she could, severing it. She pushed the door open and Snotlout ran inside to undo the chains that held the Night Fury in bondage.

Once freed from his chains, Toothless roared and bounded from the room. On instinct, he began to head through the grates to the deck, closely followed by the others. Once on the deck, Astrid led them all to the railing so that they could get aboard their boat. They couldn't fly, since Toothless needed Hiccup in order to fly properly. Once they got to the railing, however, they saw their boat a ways away, in flames.

The group spun around and found themselves trapped by the whole crew and their passengers. More were appearing from the stairway. The captain, a man who looked like he could have fit perfectly amongst the Vikings, stepped forth from among the circle of Magus.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" The captain chuckled, "A bunch of kids on an ill conceived rescue mission? You might as well surrender, there's no way you can beat us."

Astrid got into a threatening fight stance, prepared to go down fighting. However, silence fell over everyone present as a grappling hook came flying over the edge of the railing. It hooked onto the rail, and was closely followed by three others. Three more appeared on the other rail. Those on the deck were both stunned and bewildered.

With a roar, a mass of Vikings suddenly jumped over the railing. They charged forward, hacking and smashing at the Magus soldiers. Still a little confused but relieved nonetheless, Astrid and the others joined them in the battle.

Astrid ducked under the cutlass of one soldier, using her ax to take his legs out from beneath him. She then stood quickly, slamming the ax head into another man's chest. She jumped and spun, her ax clobbering two more. She noticed that these men were not as skilled in combat as those that had burned her village a few days ago, but that did not lessen her fury in the slightest.

Despite their inability to get along, the twins actually were very good when they fought together. They ducked and rolled, using their spear and ax to cut a swath into the enemy crowd. Snotlout picked up a hammer and proceeded to clobber anything that was within reach. Fishlegs showed a surprising skill with his own hammer, reacting faster than many of his enemies. The dragons took the time to enjoy themselves, toying with their victims. The Deadly Nadder, for example, would grab his victims in his talons and juggle them before dropping them into the water.

The Magus were thinning out much faster than the soldiers that had attacked Berk. Astrid took three down in one swing. He momentum was stopped, however, when a large fist connected with her stomach, sending her crashing onto the deck. She coughed and weezed as she tried to regain her breath. The Magus captain stood over her, cutlass in hand. He readied it to swing when a growl from nearby cut through the sounds of the battle. The captain looked up, Astrid following his gaze, to see Toothless giving him a very not-so-nice look. The man faltered for a second, which turned out to be a mistake. Without warning, the Night Fury launched itself forward, tackling the captain. Astrid looked away as the dragon burned the screaming man, unleashing his fury at his imprisonment.

The enemy was quickly defeated. The Vikings of Berk were surprised, however, when they were seized and gathered together. It was at this point that Astrid began to notice something. While these men were most certainly Vikings, they were also slightly different. They way they talked, the clothes they wore, the weapons they used, all had slight, distinct differences from normal Vikings that gave their identity away. Pirates. These were pirate Vikings, terrors of the Viking settled waters. There was a sudden silence, over which only the growls of the dragons and the thud of a peg leg could be heard. Then, emerging from the crowd, was the most notorious pirate the Vikings of Berk had ever known.

Ivan the Plunderer was a mountain of a man, even when it came to Vikings. He had a long, untamed brown beard and wore an eye patch over his right eye. He had a peg leg, and was missing two fingers on his right hand. He was infamous, even among other Viking pirates; and now he and his crew were all that remained. He looked down at the young Vikings before him, an amused look on his face.

"Who are ye?" Ivan asked in his rough, pirate voice.

Astrid glared at him. She knew very well who he was. "We are Vikings of Berk," she said. It was always best to give as little info as possible.

The pirate looked surprised, "Berk! We thought all the survivors of Berk had been enslaved. So ye escaped, eh? Tell me, how many of ye were there before you snuck aboard this here vessel?"

"It was just us," Astrid replied. To here surprise, the Plunderer burst into laughter.

"Just ye?" Ivan said in between laughs, "Ye manage to escape Berk and then try to sneak aboard a Magus vessel, just you? Oh, ha ha ha. I like ye, missy, ye've got some spunk. What's your name, missy?"

"Astrid, Astrid Haddock."

"Haddock? Ye wouldn't be the only child of Stoic the Vast then, would ye?"

"No, his son, Hiccup, was my husband. He," Astrid choked on the words, "he died during the attack on our village."

The Viking pirate looked a little saddened, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I've heard many a good tale about Stoic and his son. Tell me, Astrid, what was your purpose for coming here? Surely it was more than just to rescue a single dragon?"

"That dragon," Astrid said as she began to rise from her knees, "was my husbands, and he is also key to bringing down Aries and his men." At this, a murmur spread through the Vikings and Astrid's companions looked at her in bewilderment.

Ivan was silent, his head down for a moment. When he looked up, it was a rather merry look that he wore, "Well, any enemy of that pig hearted, ruthless, demon is a friend to us. Welcome aboard the newly named _Freedom_, Mrs. Haddock. Welcome, both you and your companions." A cheer rose from the crowd of pirates while the young Vikings exchanged looks of relief.

"Thank you," Astrid said, the others nodded.

Ivan stopped laughing, "Now, where will ye be goin' next? Since ye'r boat has been lost to the sea, we shall take ye there."

Astrid took a breath, "I don't know where we need to go, only that we seek a witch by the name of Zagala."

The pirates fell silent at the mention of that name. "So, ye seek that ol' hag, eh?" Ivan said, "Now why would ye want to see her fo'?"

Astrid took another breath, "She is the only one who holds the knowledge of how to kill Aries."

"Hmm, alright, Mrs. Haddock, we will take ye there, and then where ever else ye need to go."

*

Aries sat thoughtfully upon his throne as one of his servants gave him the news on the Vikings that had escaped Berk.

"This is indeed a strange turn of events. Thank you for this information. Tell our informant to make contact often."

"Very well, my liege," the servant said as he stood and left.

"You can't hide, Astrid," Aries spoke to himself, "and you won't be able to run for long either."

_**Finally, this one's done. I wasn't sure I would finish today. So, Astrid and co. are making good progress, but what's in store for them? The plot is a little less set in stone from this point until near the end, so if you have any ideas or suggestions, I'll be glad to hear them. Just please don't be offended if I don't use them. Keep up the reviews!**_

_**Dark Guymelef**_


	9. Chapter 9

Chp. 9

Zagala

The wind whipped at Astrid's face as she and Prince flew through the clouds. She laughed happily as the Deadly Nadder did a barrel roll. Suddenly, the dragon squawked and pulled into a dive. Astrid whooped as they popped out of the clouds, the sea opening before them. Prince came out of the dive, and gently flapped back to the _Freedom_ and the three Viking longboats that Ivan's pirates had originally had.

It had been two weeks since they had met Ivan the Plunderer and rescued Toothless from the Magus. Astrid and the others were now treated as a part of Ivan's crew, with a few privileges. For example, Ivan showed them a different kind of respect than he showed his men. He truly treated them like guests aboard his vessel.

Astrid smiled as Prince landed on the deck of the _Freedom _and she dismounted. A sense of normalcy had returned to their lives. That, coupled with Astrid's new sense of hope, had helped her out of her depression. She had told the others that she had heard an old legend about Zagala, so they didn't think she was crazy. However, there were still moments that she felt a crushing and painful feeling of loneliness, which served only to strengthen her resolve.

The only one who was in a bad mood was Toothless. He had understood about what had happened to Hiccup, and now only Astrid and the other dragons could get near him. Even when she was with him, all the dragon would do was sit there and whine. Sometimes, Astrid wondered who missed Hiccup more, his wife or his dragon?

Astrid headed for the stairs as Prince went to join his draconic companions on the lower level. All around her men moved back and forth, busying themselves with the tasks of keeping the ship sailing and in good condition. She would wave and say hello to the pirates as she passed. Ivan's crew looked at the Vikings from Berk as one of their own, and had grown very fond of them.

Astrid proceeded down to the cargo hold on the lowest level. A corner of the large room had been set aside for the dragons and their masters. As she expected, the others were sitting on a couple of benches, chatting. They looked up as she approached.

"Oh, hey Astrid," Ruffnut greeted, "How was the flight?"

"It was great," Astrid said as she sat down, "it's perfect weather for flying out there. So, who's going next?"

As the others raised their hands and yelled, "I am!" Snotlout just stood and walked over to Firedrake, beating them to the punch. Since the Magus would be on the lookout for them, Ivan would only allow one dragon in the air at a time. The whole reason why he was allowing one at all was because he wasn't very keen on having a whole bunch of restless, angry dragons on board.

As Snotlout and Firedrake flew through the grate openings to the sky beyond, Astrid picked up some fish to feed Toothless. The dragon looked at her gratefully and whined, nudging her hand with his nose before eating. Astrid just smiled and stroked his neck. She then went to join the rest of the group.

"We were just talking about how well our dragons are doing with fishing," Ruffnut told Astrid as the blonde took a seat.

"Boulderhead is too lazy, he won't catch hardly anything!" Fishlegs complained, "The only way I can get him to do much is by making him skip a meal."

"Ha!" Tuffnut scoffed as he leaned against the wall, his hands interlocked behind his head, "Pisces gets more than enough for himself, we have three baskets full already! One for Ruffnut, and two for me."

Ruffnut laughed, "You mean one for you and two for me, of course."

Tuffnut glared at his sister, "No, I meant what I said. I'm a guy, I need to eat twice as much as you do."

Astrid sat back and yawned as the two began arguing, thinking that she would take a short nap.

*

Aries entered the throne room to see two additional men kneeling before the empty throne to the guards that lined the walls. Aries quickly strode to the throne and sat down.

"Rise," he commanded the two men.

They both got to their feet. One of the men was tall and in his thirties. He had short, brown hair and wore black armor of Aries' men. The man next to him was dressed in a brown tunic and pants, and wore a tan cloak. His muscles bulged as he stood.

"General Nurg'ka," Aries addressed the man in the armor, "It seems our fugitives are more skilled, resourceful, and have better luck than I had anticipated. Already they approach Zagala's door. I want you to link up with Kalan and Zeruph's battalions and follow our runaways. Once you get there, march straight to the desert. No one passes you, understood?"

"Yes, your Majesty," Nurg'ka replied.

"Good, then you are dismissed." Nurg'ka bowed and left the room. At a nod from the Emperor, the guards left with him.

"And you," Aries addressed the strangely dressed man, "I have a special task for you. With everything that they accomplish, that group of miscreants' chances of defeating Nurg'ka increases. You will be there as a last resort. I recall promising to give you a wife one day, correct?"

"Yes, my liege," the man answered, a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Well, I have one for you, if you can woo her. The leader of this ragtag group is a warrior woman by the name of Astrid. It is her husband that they are trying to rescue. If you can get her to kiss you, then all their work will be in vain and Hiccup will never return. Plus, I'll give you Astrid as a reward."

"It will be my pleasure," the man said, bowing to the Emperor as well and turning for the door. He had almost reached it when Aries spoke again, "Oh, and by the way, should you fail, you will personally experience why my men both fear and respect me." The man just turned and left, leaving Aries sitting on his throne smiling wickedly.

*

Astrid woke up when it was time for dinner. The group sat around a lamp, the sun having already set, chatting about old times. However, they were careful to avoid any stories in which Hiccup was involved. After their meal, the Vikings retired, except for Astrid. Having just had a nap, the young woman did not feel tired. She walked up to the deck to observe the sea. It was an almost cloudless night, the moon shining brightly upon the water.

As she leaned on the railing and stared off into the distance, Astrid's thoughts turned to her husband. The painful, crushing feeling of loneliness swept over her. A single tear managed to escape her resistance, trickling down her cheek. A metal clanking sound accompanying footsteps snapped her out of her reverie. However, she continued to stare out to space as Chris joined her at the railing.

"Beautiful night," Chris said, looking up at the moon.

Astrid smiled, "Yes, it is."

Chris was silent for a moment, "I must admit, I'm a little nervous. Aries has had yet to try and stop you or even hinder your journey. It's not like him, he's got to be up to something."

"There's no doubt in my mind that he is," Astrid said. She was silent for a moment before facing Chris, an inquisitive look on her face, "What are you, Chris? How do you know so much? Are you some kind of ghost?"

Chris smiled and nodded his head, "I guess you could say that, in a way, I am a ghost. However, I'm not exactly dead either." Astrid gave him a look that clearly told him to elaborate, "I was the first captain of the Magus' Dragon Knights, back when we really rode dragons. Aries was my right hand man. I found out about his plans and what he sought, so I tried to stop him. That devil cursed me, trapped me in an endless prison, neither dead nor alive. For years I wandered, slowly going mad. Finally, when Aries visited Zagala, he let his guard down for a moment. She saw his memories and found me, a cursed soul. She summoned me to her, and it was shortly after that that I appeared to you."

Astrid was silent as she processed this information. Even after all she had been through, Chris's story still seemed outlandish. However, if what he said was true, it explained how he knew so much. Chris watched, seeing the cogs in her brain turning, before speaking again.

"Well, you should get some sleep. We will reach Zagala's island in the morning, and she is a cunning woman. You will all need to have your wits about you, because she will take advantage of the unguarded. Give her whatever she asks, because I can guarantee that it will help bring your husband back." With that, Chris faded away. Astrid headed to bed, her brain churning.

When she woke the next morning, the first thing to greet Astrid's sight was Ivan the Plunderer standing over her. Other pirates were busy waking the others and the dragons. She immediately noticed the lack of noise in the air. Even Ivan seemed to be on edge.

"We're here," He said.

*

Once again, Aries was sitting on his throne when a messenger entered the room. He approached the Emperor, stopping to kneel before him. "My liege," the cloaked man said, "we have just received word from our informant. The fugitives have reached the witch's island."

"If that is indeed the case," Aries said as he stood and walked to the kneeling figure, "then she will tell them everything. However, if they think even for a second that I will allow them to reach the Lost Continent unchallenged, then they are sadly mistaken. Where are General Nurg'ka's troops?"

"They are about a week behind the fugitives, your Majesty," the hooded man replied.

"Very well," Aries looked down at the man, "Rise. They must be stopped. Send word to have the Sinshark sent after them, it should reach those petty Vikings in time."

"Yes, my liege. By your leave," the messenger bowed and left the room.

*

The witch's hut was situated deep in the jungle on the mountain that jutted out of the middle of the small, lush island. For hours now, Astrid, Snotlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Fishlegs, Ivan, and a few other pirates had been trudging through the dark underbrush. Even though it was close to noon, the dark clouds and the dense jungle gave the impression of night.

Ivan had counseled to have the dragons stay behind, saying that he had no idea what Zagala might try on them nor vice versa. At first, the dragons had protested very loudly, Firedrake even set himself on fire. Eventually they calmed down after much reassurance from their masters. Toothless, however, still gave Astrid a suspicious look as they left.

Astrid grunted in annoyance as a branch entangled itself in her hair. She fumbled with it furiously, finally holding it away from her as she walked passed. Once it was behind her, the Viking let go, causing Tuffnut to growl in anger and pain as the branch smacked him in the face. This only served to make his complaining, which he had been doing since five minutes into the hike, get even louder.

"My feet hurt!" the young man complained, "Stupid mountain! We should have just ridden our dragons up here. At least then we wouldn't have to deal with all these stupid plants," he emphasized the word "plants" with a frustrated swing at a rather large bush.

"Oh, suck it up!" Ruffnut chimed in, "My feet have got to hurt worse than yours, and I'm not complaining. Besides, we would just be putting our dragons in unnecessary danger. Are bad ideas the only things you can come up with?"

Astrid sighed and shook her head as Tuffnut retorted to his sister's insult. This was the last thing they needed. After five minutes of nonstop arguing, Astrid was finally fed up with it.

"Enough!" Astrid growled. The twins suddenly found themselves staring down the points of her battle-ax, "That is enough. I don't want to hear another word out of either of you until we get back to the ship, understand?" They just nodded enthusiastically.

It was just a few short minutes later when Ivan, who had been leading the group, raised a fist to signal them to stop. He then turned to Astrid and her companions, the light from his torch illuminating their faces in the gloom.

"Look, dere it is," he whispered, pointing through some bushes.

The group pressed forward to see a small hut located between two rather large boulders in a clearing. It had three steps leading up to a small, balconied porch. The only window they could see had light coming from it, so she had to be home. Ivan silently waved the group forward, and they cautiously approached the door.

Before the large Viking pirate could even knock on the door, it began to creak open. Ivan looked in for a second before waving the others in after him. What they saw stunned them all.

The little hut was cluttered. There was a small bed next to a fireplace in one corner, and shelves filled with odd objects and jars of odd objects lined the walls. At the end of the hut opposite from where they had entered, there was an empty wooden chair, a small table, and a small stone pedestal on which sat a tiny, smoking cauldron.

There was a clatter off to the left and a few mumbled words. Then, Zagala appeared from behind a cloth door, which had blended in with the wall. She had something in her hands, which she dropped into the cauldron, causing it to fizzle. At the sound of footsteps, the witch looked up. She looked each member of the party up and down before beginning to search for something on the table.

"It's about time you showed up," the witch called over her shoulder, "I've been waiting for you for an awfully long time, Astrid Haddock."

As her friends exchanged looks of surprise, Astrid took a tentative step forward. She wasn't entirely sure what to say, "Um, I—,"

"You seek the way to bring your late husband back to life," Zagala cut in matter-of-factly, "Then what you seek lies on the Lost Continent." Ivan looked up, a look of shock on his face.

"The Lost Continent?" Astrid and the others repeated.

"It's a continent that was sealed away by the gods a long time ago. It is also where the Magus originated. It is in ancient ruins there that you find the gate to the underworld, where Hiccup will be waiting once we have summoned him. Deary, I'm going to need your ring," the witch held her hand out to Astrid.

"My ring?" Astrid looked at it, unsure of weather she could trust this old woman or not.

"Yes, Deary, your ring! Your wedding ring! Surely you still have it?" The woman said impatiently.

Recalling what Chris had told her, Astrid slowly took off her ring and handed it to Zagala. The witch bustled back to the tiny cauldron and held the ring over it. She looked like she was about to drop it when she suddenly stared at Astrid.

"Tell me, Deary, are you really willing to go through with this? The journey will be long and dangerous, you will have to face horrors and nightmares that no one has faced for centuries. Your strength, mentality, and your very love for your lost husband will be tested. Are you sure you're ready for it?"

"Yes, I am. I would go to Hell and back to get Hiccup," Astrid answered without hesitation.

"Very well then," the witch said as she dropped the ring into the cauldron, "Come, give me your hand, Deary."

Astrid approached and allowed Zagala to take her hand. From the table, she picked up a knife. Instantly, the rest of the party moved to draw their weapons. Zagala just looked at them and sneered before pricking Astrid's finger. She held it over the cauldron as blood dripped into it. Suddenly, the potion began to boil ferociously. The steam became so thick that no one could see the liquid. When it finally began to clear, Astrid peeked into the cauldron. There her ring sat, looking no different from when it had gone in.

"This," Zagala explained as she retracted the ring, "is the key that will open the gates to the Lost Continent and the ruins. As long as you wear it, Hiccup will wait for you in the underworld. Now be gone with you, you have very little time."

"But, we don't know how to get there!" Snotlout said.

The witch whipped around and glared at him before turning her attention on the huge pirate, "Ivan the Plunderer, you have hear of Maelstrom Island before, have you not?"

"Ai, I believe I 'ave," the pirate responded.

"And do you know its location?"

"Ai."

"Good, the gates to the Lost Continent are there. That is your destination. Now go! There is no time to lose!"

The trip back to the ships was much quicker and easier. The party's hearts seemed to have been lifted; all of their hardship had not been in vain! When they boarded the ship, the dragons rushed to their masters, glad to see them safe again. It was then that Astrid noticed how contemplative Ivan seemed to be. She walked up to the captain and faced him.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Maelstrom Island? The reason it has its name is a legend. Legend says that during hurricanes and large storms, which frequent the island, the whole thing is lost to a giant maelstrom. Countless of sailors and pirates have been lost to it."

"Well," Astrid tried to reassure him, "then we just have to make sure that we don't go there during a storm." The Viking pirate just rolled his eyes and hobbled off.

*

That night, Astrid found herself once again staring out to see when Chris joined her. He wore a large smile on his face as he spoke to her.

"Well, someone's in a good mood," he joked, "that visit with the witch has really seemed to lift your spirits."

"Yes," Astrid smiled, "yes, it has."

The two were silent for a few minutes. Astrid staring happily into the distance while Chris pondered something. Finally, he grabbed her and turned her to face him. Astrid saw a serious look in his eyes.

"Why do you love him?" Chris asked.

"Excuse me?" Astrid was taken aback.

"Hiccup, why do you love him?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I want you to remember what you say. You'll need it before you can rescue him." Only the seriousness in Chris's eyes got Astrid to answer.

"I love him because… he's different," as she spoke, Astrid could feel her eyes begin to water, "I love him because he's kind and gentle. He's adorable, the way he deals with dragons. He's strong and brave, but not in the brutish way that the others are. He's smart and fearless, at least for the most part. He even manages to make himself look attractive in that thin body of his. I love him because… because he is Hiccup." She looked back at Chris, who just smiled and nodded.

After a while, Chris spoke again, "I won't be able to follow you into the Lost Continent. Aries' curse prevents me from doing so. So, I'll give some advice now. The native people of the Lost Continent are very untrusting of strangers. However, you will need their help to reach the ruins. Tell them you are an enemy of the Magus, for the natives hate them. And above all, remember what you told me."

Astrid looked at him and smiled. Chris smiled back, "Good luck, and farewell." He then vanished into the air.

Astrid turned and looked at the moon, which was now poking through the clouds. She smiled as she spoke, "Don't worry Hiccup. I will rescue you, no matter what it takes."

_**Whew, that took FOREVER! Hopefully the next one won't take as long. Thanks for the reviews guys, keep it up!**_

_**Dark Guymelef**_


	10. Chapter 10

Chp. 10

Maelstrom

The fog was so thick that you couldn't see more than two feet in front of you. Astrid stumbled her way across the deck, almost colliding with one of the masts. She ducked out of the way just in time, avoiding a broken nose. However, it didn't change her luck by much, since she tripped over some stray rope anyway. Astrid's face met the wooden deck hard.

Fishlegs found her and helped her to her feet. "The fog is getting thicker," he stated.

The sound of a peg leg on the wood signaled the approach of Ivan the Plunderer, "It means we're close," he said, "The fog is always really thick the closer to the island ye get."

Astrid and the others looked toward the front of the ship as it sailed further into the swirling mist. None were aware of the small wave following a ways away. It would have been large enough to be noticed on a clear day, but only just so. No one could hear the deep purring sound that seem to issue from the sea just below the wave either.

Finally, and quite suddenly, the fog vanished all together, and the small fleet found themselves in open water. Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout all looked around and confusion until they heard someone cry, "Land ho!" They all rushed to the front of the ship, realizing as they did so that they were in what was like a clearing in a forest of fog. The thick mist formed a wide and perfect circle, in the center of which was an island much similar to that of Zigala's.

"Is that it?" Snotlout asked aloud to no one in particular.

"Ai, that's it. We 'ave reached our destination mates. Welcome, to Maelstrom Island." Ivan answered.

The Vikings didn't realize how big this clearing was until an hour later when the island was still just a spot on the line where white met blue. Astrid in particular was annoyed by this. It seemed to her that the island was taunting them. Like it got farther and farther the closer they tried to proceed. Even the dragons seemed to sense their masters' apprehension. They became unusually snappy and jumpy.

At noon, as all of the Vikings were sitting down to have lunch, Ivan approached Astrid. "I've arranged for one of me boats to take ye ashore when we get dere," the huge man said, "I'm afraid that's we're we part ways. Me men and I will not go to inside that island, sailors' superstition, you know."

"I understand," Astrid replied, "thanks for your help."

"It was my pleasure, Mrs. Haddock," Ivan said.

So, when they finally reached the island, Astrid and the others went aboard one of the Viking longboats with their dragons. Ivan came with them as a show of respect and farewell. Once the dragon on the front of the boat cut into the sandy shore, they young Vikings and their dragons jumped onto the beach. Ivan and a few of his men got off the boat as well, so that they could push it back out to sea.

"Well," Ivan said as he shook hands with the departing Vikings, "I must say that I'm sorry to see ye leave. It was a pleasure havin' ye as a part of me crew. Good luck Mrs. Haddock, I 'ope you get ye'r husband back." He then turned and began to help push the ship back into the water.

It was then that it happened. A loud, low growl that seemed to echo everywhere made everyone stop and look around. Then, there was silence, and eerie silence. Suddenly, something huge burst out of the sea and struck one of the longboats, shattering it in two as its crew screamed and jumped overboard, which was a mistake. One by one, they were pulled beneath the waves as their ship sank. Whatever monster was responsible let out a terrible roar from beneath the water's surface.

"Go!" Ivan the Plunderer yelled to the group assembled on the beach, "Get to that continent! We'll try to distract the monster!" With that, his men quickly shoved the ship into the ocean and began to row back to the _Freedom_.

Astrid had almost reached the tree line when there was a huge crash. She and the others turned to see something enormous emerging from the water onto the island a ways away. At first, Astrid thought it to some enormous crustacean, until she got a clear picture of it.

The monster looked like a cross between a giant eel and the mother of all crustaceans. It had six legs and two pincers. Its tail was flat, and what Astrid had mistaken for a shell was actually armor covering the thing's back. It's face and underside were that of an eel, however.

The creature stumbled onto the island, water falling off of it like rain. It looked around, stopping once it found the dumbfounded group on the beach. The monster seemed to almost glare at them for a second before letting out a loud roar. At this, the group promptly resumed running into the trees.

Crashing sounds signaled that the creature was giving chase. Its shadow soon over took them. The group stopped under the trees beneath the creature's belly. It didn't know where they were and seemed to be looking for them. Its growls were so loud that they drowned out the panting of the Vikings and their dragons.

"Alright," Astrid said, "here's what we're going to do. Prince, Toothless, and I are going to find the gate. While we're doing that, you guys distract this thing with your dragons and try to lure back out to sea. Once we've found the gate, I'll get on Prince and signal you guys back, ok?" The rest of the Vikings nodded. "Ok, on the count of three. One, two, three!"

Astrid, Toothless and Prince took off into the jungle as the others mounted their dragons and flew out from under the monster's belly. It still was unaware of what was happening until it received a fireball in the back of the head from Fishlegs' Gronckle. It growled deeply and shook its head before turning and snapping at the airborne reptiles with its pincers.

Astrid mounted Prince as he and Toothless ran through the jungle. Well, glided or hopped would be more accurate terms. Their paws would only touch the ground for a little bit before they jumped into the air and glided below the treetops. The pounding of the sea monster's legs and the snapping of its claws told Astrid that the others were performing their roles perfectly. It was up to her now to save them.

After a few minutes of dodging through the trees, they finally reached the mountain that rose up in the center of the island. There was an old, open entrance at the mountain's base. The rubble around it suggested that is used to a door of some kind. Astrid got off of Prince and ran inside, the dragons following closely behind her.

The entrance opened to a tunnel, an awfully long tunnel. It seemed to Astrid like the stupid thing would never end! She just kept running forward, the dragons at her heels, as the tunnel twisted and curved. Soon, the sounds of the battle outside could no longer be heard over their panting and their footsteps. Finally, they stopped to rest in front of a stairway that disappeared into the low ceiling.

The monster roared in fury as Firedrake launched a ball of flame at one of the joints between the plates on its back. With surprising speed, the creature whipped around, its claw reaching for the Monstrous Nightmare. Snotlout threw insults at it as his dragon flew out of reach.

The crustacean- eel soon found itself blind in one eye as its vision was blocked by a cloud of green gas. Before the monster could move away, Pisces spat a spark at the cloud, igniting it instantly. The hideous creature screamed as its eye burned, its pincer coming dangerously close to Pisces and its masters.

Fishlegs and Boulderhead were coming around for another run at the beast when Fishlegs noticed something that made him stop the Gronckle in midair.

"Fishlegs!" Snotlout called out from Firedrake as the flew past, "What are you doing?"

"Look!" Fishlegs pointed at the monsters belly.

Snotlout's eyes widened as he saw what looked like two long, thin, barbed tentacles snaking out from the space between the creature's armored back and its soft belly. They came up behind Pisces, preparing to strike at the twins' backs.

Just as the tentacles shot forward, two blasts of fire knocked them out of the air. The sounds of the explosions caused Ruffnut and Tuffnut to turn around. Their eyes widened as they saw the burning tentacles writhing in the air. They turned their eyes to Fishlegs and Snotlout as the two sped by.

"Ruffnut, Tuffnut," Snotlout yelled over the monster's screams, "watch your backs!"

The two nodded and put some distance between them and the giant creature as it retracted the tentacles. Almost the same instant that the two vanished under the armor, dozens more lashed out. The dragons soon found themselves dodging in and around a forest of tentacles with death stuck to their ends.

It looked like Fishlegs and the Gronckle were going to fall victim to this terrible mass when the monster roared in pain, its tentacles retracting enough to allow the two to escape. The creature staggered as yet another large and fast-moving boulder hit it. It turned its head in the direction that the giant rocks had come from and noticed, as if for the first time, the ships out in the water. With a cry of rage, the creature half-blindly crashed into the ocean. Their Viking blood having taken control of their senses, the dragon riders followed it, continuing their harassment of the giant… thing.

Astrid ran up the winding, endless staircase. Finally, she emerged onto a ledge that faced the battle continuing in front of her. The blonde looked to her left and saw another entrance into the mountain on the ledge. She looked in and found… another staircase. With a frustrated and exasperated sigh, the Viking took to the stairs once again, the dragons hot on her heels.

This staircase proved to be much shorter than its predecessor. Astrid soon emerged into a large chamber. At the center of the chamber on a raised platform stood some sort of altar. She approached it, praying that this would lead her to the gate to the Lost Continent. At the center of the altar was a large, stone table. It had ancient runes and designs engraved into it, that all seemed to focus around a small, round indent in the tables center. She wasn't sure why, but Astrid took off her wedding ring and placed it into the indent.

The monster roared as its belly was scorched by yet another tongue of Firedrake's flame. Snotlout and his dragon weren't so lucky this time, however, as they were caught by one of the pincers. The two were thrown into the soft sand on the beach, but it was still enough to knock the two unconsciouses. Pisces and Boulderhead, with their Viking masters, soon flew down to join the two on the beach. Ruffnut was the first to reach Snotlout.

"He's alive!" She yelled to the other two as they and their dragons ran to her.

Behind them, the monster roared and began its attack on the pirate Vikings. One of the longboats sank under its giant pincer. The other one was picked up in the creature's mouth, and subsequently smashed into pieces. Those that landed in the water found themselves fighting with the creature's barbed tentacles. The monster turned, smashing one of the _Freedom's_ masts in two. It was about to catch the vessel between its pincers when the shaking began.

*

Astrid pushed her ring into the space on the table. At first, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, the stone beneath the ring lit up. Light traveled from the center of the table to the runes carved into it, like water in an irrigation system. For one brilliant moment, the table shined brightly. Then, the light died away as quickly as it had come. Astrid picked up her ring and slid it back onto her finger, wondering what she had done. Then, the shaking began. The whole cave was quaking!

Astrid leaned against a wall to keep herself from falling flat on her face. Dirt fell from the cave ceiling, signaling that a cave-in would occur soon.

"C'mon! We have to go!" Astrid yelled to the growling dragons as she ran past them. The group ran down the steps, Astrid almost tripping and falling a few times. A loud crash behind them told them that the cave had collapsed, but they weren't out of danger yet. They continued running until they reached the ledge.

Astrid stopped and stared in shock. The water around the island was rising up and away. At the top of the water, Astrid could see the _Freedom _sailing away, attempting to escape. _Escape?_ Astrid thought _Aren't they going the wrong way to escape?_ Then she realized, the water wasn't rising, the island was sinking! It was rapidly sinking in to the center of a giant maelstrom! Immediately, Astrid's brain kicked into high gear, figuring out the best path of escape.

A roar ripped her from her brainstorming, however, and Astrid looked to see its source. She saw the giant monster emerging from the wall of water onto the beach. It shook its head before swiftly turning towards something else on the beach, growling menacingly. Astrid looked to find its target. She saw the others gathered on the beach not far from where the giant monster was.

"No!" Astrid cried as she turned and ran to Prince. Just as she was about to mount the Deadly Nadder, however, it began to rain. Astrid looked up as the rain quickly worsened. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw the top of the maelstrom begin to close in, like a giant wave. She quickly hopped onto her dragon, which then spread his wings. Before he could even flap them once, the water collapsed onto the island, which continued to sink into the ocean. For the island's occupants, everything went black.

*

Astrid woke with a start and found herself rapidly falling through the clouds of a hurricane. The two dragons fell with her, though both were still unconscious. Before she could scream, the Viking plunged into the sea. She resurfaced, sputtering. The storm was quickly dissipating, so she could see what was around her. She saw a long beach, bordered by two giant cliffs. This was certainly not Maelstrom Island.

There was a roar to the woman's left, and she turned to see the sea monster falling from the sky. It landed face first on one of the cliffs with a loud cracking sound. As the rest of its body fell, it was dragged off the edge of the cliff to the shallow water below, where it lay dead.

It was then that a thought caught hold of Astrid. The only thought in her mind as blackness began to take her once again. The land before didn't look like Maelstrom Island because it wasn't Maelstrom Island. It was the Lost Continent.

_**Ok, sorry for this chapter being so short. I had a difficult time trying to get it as long as it is. School is starting to give me a lot of work again, so I won't be able to update as fast as I did before. You guys are rocking with the reviews! Keep them coming!**_

_**Dark Guymelef**_


	11. Chapter 11

Chp. 11

The Lost Continent

A blonde woman and two dragons lay on the beach, out cold. They had drifted ashore hours ago, and had not stirred. So deep was the state that they were in, that the group still came nowhere close to waking as several strangely dressed men began to move them. The woman was put on a stretcher-type contraption, while the reptiles were pulled into heavy, horse drawn cages.

From a hilltop not far away, the other four Vikings watched as Astrid, Toothless, and Prince were being loaded up and taken away by the men. Fishlegs had had a stroke of genius and had decided that charging down there and immediately fighting these muscular, though not Viking-sized, men in order to free the others. He had managed to convince the others that careful observation would be needed. So, here they sat, observing.

The men wore baggy clothing made of a lighter cloth than Vikings wore. The pants were white, with gold strips of cloth running down them. They wore small, loose, blue vests made out of a similar cloth. They all carried a large, curved sword, and many carried long spears. The spearmen guarded the sides of the cages the dragons were in as they set off.

"Look," Fishlegs pointed at the guards, "they seem to be afraid of Toothless and Prince."

Indeed, every time one of the dragons so much as flinched, the guards would back away, murmuring fearfully. They acted like the reptiles were diseased or likely to rip off one of their limbs should they got too close. The men were careful to make sure that the ends of their spears were between them and the dragons at all times. The group moved on toward a city in the distance. It wasn't until they were nothing more than tiny black specks did the Vikings move.

"Great," Tuffnut complained, "now Astrid's gone. Now what are we supposed to do?"

"Well, it's not like your complaining is going to fix anything," Ruffnut remarked.

"Oh yeah? Well I don't here you coming up with anything!" Tuffnut shot back.

Snotlout tried to no avail to interrupt the two as they started arguing. He tried to tell them that arguing was not going to help Astrid, but they just ignored him. All the while, Fishlegs watched the shrinking specks, thinking. Finally, an idea came to him.

"You guys!" He yelled as he turned to the others. The excitement in his voice was enough to get the others' attention, "You guys, I think I have a plan."

Astrid came to as she was being dragged through a rather large city. She stared in awe at the large buildings made out of what looked like some sort of stone. People in strange clothes bustled back and forth constantly. Wooden stands were set up all along the sides of the dusty street, their vendors selling strange items, including some vegetation that Astrid had never seen before.

A growl from nearby brought Astrid's sightseeing to an abrupt halt. She whipped her head around and saw Toothless in a horse drawn cage behind her. The dragon saw her move and whined, giving her a sorrowful look. Then, he turned back to the guards of the cage and resumed his growling. An angry squawk told the young Viking that her Deadly Nadder was somewhere behind Toothless.

It was then that Astrid noticed that she was on a stretcher. Two men where carrying her while two others marched on either side. When Astrid attempted to get up, the two guards immediately drew their swords and held them over her, forcing her back onto the leather that kept her from falling onto the dirt.

A kid ran up to the group and began conversing with the men around her. The guards' attention turned to him and their swords began to move away. This was all the blonde warrior needed. Quick as lightning, Astrid had rolled onto the ground, kicked one of the men's legs out from beneath him, and was racing towards Toothless. Before she got more than a few feet, however, Astrid felt several strong arms grab her from behind. Astrid grunted and growled as she struggled against her captors, but it was no use; there were just too many of them.

"You are a feisty one, aren't you?" A man with a blue cape and an armored, gold breastplate walked up to the Viking. She guessed this was the troop's leader, "Well, that won't do you any good. Your demon friends are locked up and you are a stranger to this land, you wouldn't last more than a few days on your own. Now, why don't you be a good girl and just cooperate with us?"

Seeing that she had very little choice, Astrid silently complied. Abandoning the stretcher, two men seized her arms as the troop began its march again. The street, which had gone quiet during the blonde Viking's escape attempt, began to become noisy once more. However, Astrid could still tell that she was drawing quite a few stares.

The troop marched up to an iron gate, which was pulled open by two guards dressed similarly to the captain. As the group proceeded inside, Astrid saw a large building made out of the same material as the others in the city, but this thing was huge. She was brought to the large double doors at the front of the building, and as they opened, the dragons were taken somewhere off to the left. It was as they stepped inside that Astrid decided that she was done with cooperating.

The Viking suddenly began to struggle; she pushed at her captors, flailed her legs, and twisted her arms back and forth, desperately trying to free them. The hold on her tightened, and more men came to help restrain the woman. She punched, kicked, even bit a few of them, completely oblivious to where they were headed.

Another pair of large wooden doors opened into a large hall. The group restraining the struggling Viking woman entered the room, several of them sporting broken noses. The men forced Astrid onto the ground, and turned to kneel the best they could while making sure that she did not get up again. Astrid stopped to catch her breath, and looked up to see where she was.

Astrid was in a large room similar in size to the meeting hall back home. It had several high windows lining the walls. Tall, wooden, black pillars lined the sides of a red carpet. Each pillar had a black bowl sitting on top of them. At the end of the carpet, opposite of where she lay, was a man sitting on a large, wooden throne. This man wore a large, blue robe with gold embroidery lining the edges. He gave off a powerful sense of authority, but that had no effect over the enraged woman at all.

The man made a motion with his hand, and the men released Astrid, moving to block any attempt to escape through the door. Astrid slowly got to her feet. She was breathing heavily and, if looks could kill, the man on the throne would be dead by now.

"Who are you?" The man asked in a deep, heavily accented voice.

"Tell me first who you are!" Astrid screamed back. She still did not feel like cooperating.

Astrid immediately felt strong hands push her back down on the ground. She struggled against them as she heard one man yelling at her.

"How dare you speak to the Principal in such a manner? You should have your tongue cut out for that!"

"Enough!" The Principal yelled. He waved his men away, once again allowing Astrid to stand. "You may want to be careful, stranger. You have already broken many of our laws, which will not help in the decision of whether or not you are a Magus spy."

"What?" Astrid was shocked, "Me? A Magus? Are you NUTS? Why would I –," but she never got to finish, because the wall to the left suddenly collapsed inward, unleashing a cloud of green gas.

The room's occupants soon found themselves relying on sound as the gas quickly filled the room. Astrid ran towards the hole in the wall, she had recognized the smell of the gas. A loud commotion could be heard drifting into the room from outside. There were a few booming sounds and a cacophony of yelling, scraping, and growling filled the air on both sides of the hole.

Finally, the gas began to clear. The natives of the Lost Continent stood in shock as they saw several large shapes emerge from the green cloud. Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and all of the dragons, including Toothless and Prince, filled the center of the room. Astrid stood at the head of the group, glaring menacingly at the Principal.

The Principal's eyes narrowed as he glared at the group in front of him, "So, there are more of you. Now I know that you must be Magus. Guards, seize them!"

At his command, the Principal's men moved forward. However, they stopped dead when Toothless and Pisces turned and growled at them, daring one of them to make the first move. The guards shuffled backward nervously, and Astrid took a step toward the Principal, a smirk on her face.

"Wait!" A voice called from the back of the room before Astrid had a chance to speak. All eyes turned to the doorway, in which stood a panting, handsome young man. His shoulder length black hair was wet from the sweat that the young man had perspired during his run. His brown tunic was wet in some places as well. He also wore brown pants and boots, as well as a tan cloak.

"Wait," the newcomer panted, "you're making a mistake. They are not Magus."

"Who are you to tell me this?" The Principal asked. The young man looked up, and the Principal's eyes widened, "Advisor Skousen, what are you doing here?"

"Stopping you from punishing the innocent," Skousen replied, "These people are enemies of the Magus, or did your men not see the Sinshark that they slew lying on the beach?"

"Sinshark?" The Principal repeated, his eyes becoming even wider. He returned his gaze to Astrid, "You slew a Sinshark?"

At first, Astrid was completely clueless. Then, realization dawned on her as the blonde woman figured out what they were talking about. So, that was what that… thing was. Remembering that she still had yet to answer, Astrid squared her shoulders and glared determinedly at the Principal. "Yes, we did. It attacked us as we searched for the gate to this place, and we killed it."

The Principal sat back down on his throne, eyeing Astrid suspiciously. "Alright, I'll trust you, Advisor. But only because I know that your people hate the Magus as much as we do. However I will not have them," he gestured to Astrid, "and their demonic pets staying in my city! They will have to leave."

"It's alright, Principal. I will take them to my village. They will be far from you there." Skousen told the ruler.

"Fine," the Principal waved his hand, "now go. Be gone from my sight."

Skousen did not speak to any of them as he led the group of Vikings and dragons out of the city. It wasn't until they reached the top of a large hill above the civilization that he turned and spoke.

"Alright, I was kind enough to come to your rescue, but now I think you should tell me who you are and what you are doing here."

Astrid considered snapping back at him, but decided that his reasoning was fair, "Ok, we'll tell you. We are Vikings from a small village called Berk. I am Astrid, and these are my friends: Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut, as well as our dragons."

"And the reason you are here?" Skousen asked impatiently.

"We are here to bring my husband, Hiccup, back from the underworld to help us rescue our village."

"I see," the young man said, "and that witch told you where to find the underworld?"

"Only how to get into it and that it was on this continent," Astrid replied.

"Astrid," Snotlout cut in, "are you sure that telling all of this is such a good idea?"

"Yes," Astrid replied quickly, "besides, we need a guide to take us to the ruins."

Skousen was silent for a moment before stepping aside and pointing out ahead of them. "Look," he beckoned to the group.

The Vikings gaped at the vast expanse of land that opened up before them. Off to their right was an immense forest. In the distance beyond that, they could see a crumbling stone structure with a giant mountain behind it. To the left of the forest and directly ahead of them was a strip of desert about ten miles across that stretched off into the horizon. Immediately to the group's left was the ocean, which stretched into a large gulf that disappeared into the horizon as well. Never, in all of their lives, had any of the Vikings seen a piece of land so large.

"That large citadel beyond the forest is part of the ruins that sits on top of the underworld. However, the doors into the ruins have been sealed shut, and now the only way into them is through the caves in the mountain behind it," Skousen informed the astonished foreigners, "The Dry Road, that strip of desert in front of us, eventually leads to the Red Sands, which is a desert that holds the gate into the mountain. That is where you will need to go. However, I think it's best that you stop by my village for a while before that."

"Where's your village?" Fishlegs asked.

Skousen turned and pointed to the edge of the forest a ways away, "It's about three miles inside the forest. We can't go too deep into it because of the monsters that dwell there. Come, we need to get at least halfway to the village before nightfall. All sorts of strange creatures roam the open lands after dark."

Aries sat upon his throne, silently musing over something in his mind. Astrid and her friends were certainly more skilled than he had expected. The Emperor had underestimated them. However, now they were back on his turf and, even though he had not been there for decades, Aries still wielded a large amount of power on the Lost Continent. Most of the dark creatures there still answered to his call and did his bidding.

"Zak'tar," the Emperor suddenly spoke, "where are Nurg'ka's men now?"

Zak'tar, who had been speaking with a couple of soldiers by one of the pillars, turned to respond to his superior, "He said that he and his men are only a few days from the island, your Majesty."

Aries was silent again for a few moments before speaking, mostly to himself, "So, he will arrive soon. No doubt what's left of those arrogant, pigheaded natives have a plan made in case of our return. Chances are increasingly high that those Vikings will gain access to the caves, and I don't know how successful Mr. Skousen will be at wooing that stubborn woman. It'll probably up to the Nightmares of the ruins to take them down."

"Your Majesty?" Zak'tar cut into Aries' train of thought, "If you don't mind me saying, my lord, I'm sure Nurg'ka and his troops will be more than enough to stop the fugitives."

Aries smiled, giving Zak'tar the chills, "We will have to see, Zak'tar. We will just have to wait and see."

The group stopped inside a small cave at the edge of the forest to rest for the night. They had lit a fire with the help of the dragons, who did not stay awake for very long. Their masters soon joined them, dropping off one by one until only Astrid and Skousen remained awake.

Astrid got up and walked over to sit next to the young man. She didn't know why, but she felt drawn to him. Something had been on her mind for a while now, and he was as good a person as any to explain it to her. Skousen poked the fire a little bit before turning to her as she sat down.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," Astrid replied, "Listen, Skousen, I was wondering, what happened here? Why do you hate the Magus so much?"

Skousen stared at the fire for a few seconds before answering, "Well, that's a long story, and I don't want to put you too sleep telling it." He looked at her with a smile on his face.

"I really want to know," Astrid pleaded.

The young man sighed, "Ok, here it goes. Generations ago, four powerful empires ruled this land: the Arians, the Kalok, the Aloceenians, and of course, the Magus. These four powers had ruled for as long as anyone could remember. Those ruins had also been there forever, and it was forbidden to enter them.

"One day, Aries, one of the Magus' Dragon Knights, entered the ruins. He was there seeking a power to rival the Gods, and for that, they cursed him. He would never age, and could only die by the sword. He then committed a ritual in the ruins that unleashed a horde of evil creatures deemed "Nightmares" under his control onto the continent. We fought them off and then the other three nations declared war on the Magus. We chased them from this land, thinking that then the Nightmares would go back to their world. We were wrong. The creatures returned in greater numbers, and destroyed our peoples. When they finally returned to the ruins, the survivors sealed them away, and we began living in small tribes and cities. The people I just rescued you from are Arians. My people are Kalok."

Astrid, who had sat there listening intently, was surprised by how tired she suddenly was. She sat there, soaking in all of the information. When she finally spoke again, it was easy to tell how tired she was, "So, they sealed it away and now we are trying to get to it."

"Don't worry," Skousen yawned, "I'll take care of it. For now, let's just get some rest."

As Astrid lie down and sleep overcome her, her thoughts drifted to Hiccup, and how close she was to being with him again.

_**I am really sorry for how long it has taken me to update. I fail to understand why teachers suddenly think that a month before graduation is a good time to suddenly assign a ton of work. I'm totally swamped! I can only type early in the morning or late at night. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long. Thanks for the reviews, they rock! Keep them coming!**_

_**Dark Guymelef**_


	12. Chapter 12

Chp. 12

Another Troubled Horizon

"Aaaarrghhh!" A young man charged forward, his sword poised for a strike. He swung upward as he approached his opponent. The blades of their weapons met in a "clang" and a shower of sparks. The young man struck again, but his silver-armored opponent was to quick, blocking the attack with ease.

The mist that covered the ground up to their knees swirled around them as the two continued their deadly dance. The young man struck again and again, but Chris blocked each strike almost effortlessly. This was beginning to annoy him. How could this man ever possibly hope to stand against Aries if he went berserk like this?

"Concentrate!" Chris yelled at the man, "Focus! Don't just swing blindly like that. Think about each attack, and feel the flow of the sword with your body."

The young man huffed and took a deep breath, calming himself. He slowly brought the sword out in front of him, holding it with both hands. Then, giving his war cry, he swung forward. Chris parried the blow, then stepped to the side to deliver his own attack. Seeing this, the young man spun around, taking Chris by surprise and nearly knocking the weapon from his hand. The former Dragon Knight jumped back and prepared to receive his opponent's next strike.

His opponent charged forward, jumping just before reaching Chris so that he could strike from above. Chris blocked the attack, then lunged forward with one of his own. The young man parried and struck back. The two found themselves stepping back and forth, side-to-side, spinning, ducking, and jumping as the furious duel continued.

Chris stumbled backward as he hit a huge boulder hidden in the mist. He rolled to the side, hearing the young man's blade bounce off the boulder where he had been a mere millisecond before. Chris quickly scaled to the top of the large rock, then turned to fight his opponent, who was coming up after him. Their blades cut through the air, emitting small groups of sparks each time they met.

Finally, Chris struck at his opponent's side, hard. The young man blocked the attack, but lost his balance. He grunted as he fell and rolled down the rock, landing face first in the dirt. As he got to his knees and reached for his sword, Chris took the handle of his own sword in both hands, the blade pointing downward. He leapt into the air, readying his sword for the strike. His opponent stood up but, before he could turn around, he gave a cry of pain as Chris's blade entered his back, a few inches jutting out just below his ribcage.

The young man dropped back onto his hands and knees, panting and grunting in pain. He gave another cry when Chris pulled the sword from him. The knight sat down next to him and waited until it looked like most of the pain had subsided.

"You know," the young man panted and grimaced as he turned to look at Chris, "it's really convenient that we can't die."

Chris chuckled before he spoke, "I know, one of the few advantages of being cursed men." The two were silent for a moment, "But, once again, Aries would have killed you."

The group rose early the next morning to continue their journey to the Kalok village. All day they marched through the underbrush. After separating them three times, Pisces decided to just carry its masters in its jaws since they seemed unable to cooperate with each other on this hike.

"Tell me again why we can't just fly there?" Snotlout complained as he angrily batted away a branch, only to have it smack him in the face.

"Because, my people might mistake them for Wyverns," Skousen replied as Snotlout loudly informed the group of his discomfort.

"And what are Wyverns?" Astrid asked.

"Wyverns are half dragons," Skousen explained, "what the other half is, we don't know. They are the terrors of the skies in the mountain. The Magus used to train them as mounts for their Dragon Knights. They have diamond shaped heads and two rows of razor-sharp teeth. They only have two, powerful legs with large talons."

"Ah, I see," Astrid said to herself.

The sun was setting and all of the light in the forest was almost completely gone by the time they reached the village. Judging by the large contingent of guards that came out of the village walls to get them, the Vikings assumed that the only reason they were alive was because Skousen was there. They were taken through the village to its center. There, they were met by a large man with a long, black beard. He wore a green cloak like the rest of the villagers, and the like the one Skousen had traded for his tan cloak once they had entered the forest. Skousen, who was at the head of the group, stopped before him.

"Chief Kroukanan," Skousen bowed, "I have returned from the Arian city, and I bring guests."

"Advisor Skousen," the chief answered in a deep, booming voice, "what is the meaning of this? Why have brought these strangers and their… pets to our sanctuary? Explain yourself!"

Skousen stood up, a determined look in his eye, "These are foreigners from beyond the sea. They are enemies of the Magus and have come here with their dragons to rescue one of their number from the Underworld. I have agreed to be their guide."

The tall man glared at him, "You know our laws. It's too dangerous to enter those ruins. What if the Nightmares returned because you entered their domain?"

"I made them a promise to take them to the Underworld," Skousen snapped, defiance written all over his face, "I am a man of my word, I will keep my promise."

The chief looked like he was going to reply when he looked around. Night had fully fallen now, and it was time for the villagers to sleep, "We will continue this discussion further in the morning," Chief Kroukanan said, "Our 'guests' shall be taken to the travelers' quarters." The man motioned with one giant hand, and the guards escorted the Vikings and their dragons away.

Astrid took this opportunity to observe her surroundings. The village was larger than it had looked at first. All of the buildings were made out of wood, and a few rested in the trees. Bridges connected these tree houses like catwalks. The people regarded them with fear and distrust. Their deep-seated hatred of the Magus was enough to make even Astrid shiver. She wondered who hated whom more: Astrid and Aries, or the Kalok and the Magus?

The Kalok led them to a tavern-sized structure. Inside was just one large room. A fireplace stood along the wall to the left, and a small storage compartment to the right. By the looks of it, no one had been here for a while.

"This is where you will be sleeping," One of the guards said, "If you need anything, the chief's hut is the largest in the village."

The guards left and the Vikings began to lie out their sleeping gear. They were exhausted by the day's journey, and were eager to go to sleep. Astrid was so tired that she was out cold the moment her head touched her pillow.

Since it was so dark, and everyone was preoccupied, no one noticed the large storm that had gathered in the direction from which the party had come. As per tradition in the Arian city, someone stood in a large tower on the shore, watching for any newcomers that might appear from the storm. The guard had been up there for hours, straining his eyes against the growing darkness to find anything. Finally, as the storm began to let up, something appeared coming out of the gloom.

It was a ship. A large ship with three masts on which sat several sails. It was soon followed by another ship just like it, and another, and another. Soon, seven of these vessels were visible sailing toward the shore. The guard didn't even need to look at the flags they were flying to tell where these ships had come from. He'd been told about them since he was young, the vessels of the Magus.

The guard had enough time to inform the Principal of the invaders, but the Arians did not have enough time to assemble their army. They had barely enough time to alert everyone before the Magus were upon them. Twenty-five hundred black-clad soldiers disembarked from the ships and marched into the city. Chaos erupted. All resistance from the Arians was swept away by the armored tide. The city was quickly alight as building after building went up in flames. The soldiers were merciless, killing any who got in their way. The wounded and injured that lay in the streets were crushed as thousands of armored feet marched over them.

Then, as if nothing had happened, they marched out of the city and into the night. The rhythmic sounds of their footsteps and clanging armor could be heard for miles around them. Like wildfire, the news spread. News of a long, black, armored column, marching toward the desert. The Magus had returned.

When Astrid woke up, she found Prince, his head on the ground, staring at her intently. The blonde Viking groaned as she sat up and looked around. Apparently, she was the last one up. All of the other Vikings were gone, but their dragons had stayed behind.

She placed a hand on the Nadder's head as she got up. "Morning," she greeted him. As she headed for the door, Toothless raised his head, turning to watch her, "Good morning to you too," Astrid said as she passed him by. She had to cover her face with her hand to shield her eyes from the bright sunlight as she stepped out the door.

As Astrid walked toward the chief's house, she observed the village again. With the sun shining and lighting the forest, the village looked almost cheerful. The only problem was the villagers. The villagers looked almost fearful. They kept looking back at the sky behind her. Finally, the Viking turned around to look at the sky, a look of surprise alighting her features.

A huge pillar of thick, black smoke stood out harshly against the blue sky. Astrid stared at the growing cloud in shock when it hit her. The smoke was rising from the direction they had just come. If that was true, then that meant… Astrid turned and booked it the rest of the way to the chief's home.

When she got there, Astrid found a large circle of people in front of the hut. She could see her friends amongst those in the circle. Upon her approach, Skousen turned around to look at her.

"Astrid!" The young man called, announcing her arrival, "Come, you need to hear this too." He opened a space in the circle for her, his arm outstretched. As she drew near, his hand rested on the small of her back as he guided her the rest of the way, dropping his hand when she stopped. Astrid felt a strange tingling sensation at this, but her adrenaline washed it away.

The circle consisted of the Vikings, Skousen, the chief, two of his advisors, and a group of guards. In the center of the circle was another, small group of soldiers. These men looked worn out and exhausted, as well as afraid. Despite being out of breath, they spoke very adamantly and quickly.

"It's horrible, chief. Arians are scattered everywhere. They're all tattered and torn and dirty. Their city is burning to the ground!"

"Who's responsible for this?" The chief asked in his gruff voice.

"That's the worst part," another guard chimed in, "It's them, the Magus. One huge, long formation of armored soldiers. Chief, they're heading for the Red Sands."

Astrid was shocked, "But, that's where we're going…" she whispered.

The chief turned to her, "Not anymore your not. Not with a Magus army waiting there for you. I'm afraid you'll have to give up on your quest for now."

"What?" Skousen exclaimed, apparently outraged, "You can't be serious Chief! I promised them I'd help them get to the Underworld and that's what I plan to do!"

"You will not!" the chief yelled back, "You and your guests are confined to your quarters for now. Take them away!"

The guards took Skousen back to his home as the Vikings were led back to their temporary lodging. Astrid felt appreciation for Skousen's efforts, but knew that the Chief was not about to be persuaded. The Vikings spent the rest of the day wondering what they were going to do. Astrid was on a whole different level than her comrades though. She was silent, pacing back and forth, but gave off an aura that made her friends decide it was best to leave her alone. The blonde woman was practically livid!

That night, Astrid couldn't sleep. She stayed awake under her blanket through the entire night, thinking desperately of what to do. How could this happen? They had gotten so far, only to be stopped by a bunch of cowards who didn't want to stand up to their longtime enemy. Astrid refused to be stopped! She had not come so close to be headed off here!

After what seemed like an eternity, Astrid sighed. She needed some fresh air to wake her and clear her mind. She had to come up with an alternative. If she didn't, she wasn't sure what she would do. The Viking got up and headed toward the door. As she reached it, Astrid turned around to make sure she had not disturbed anyone. Satisfied, she turned and walked out the door, and right into Skousen.

"Ow!" Astrid whispered hoarsely as she staggered backward, "Skousen! You better have a good reason for being here!"

The young man smiled, the gesture lighting up his face, "Wake everyone up. We're leaving."

The Vikings and their dragons silently followed Skousen as they crept through the sleeping village. Once they had put some distance between them and the Kalok, the young man explained his plan. They had to leave in secret, because the Kalok wouldn't let them go. They would sneak into the Red Sands, and hopefully be able to go around the Magus to reach the door into the mountain.

A few hours after dawn, the party found themselves looking out over the Dry Road from a cliff at the edge of the forest. In the distance, they could barely see a black mass moving across the dusty strip. The Magus were moving fast. The column was still astonishingly large, despite the distance between the soldiers and the Vikings.

"C'mon," Skousen said after a minute, "we need to keep going."

At that exact moment, as the group began to turn away, there was a loud screech. They whipped around, and saw a falcon burst from the treetops, soaring toward the west. The Vikings would have passed it off as nothing, if Skousen hadn't of stepped forward, a look of concern on his face. There was a rustling sound from behind them, and the group turned quickly, seeing Chief Kroukanan and sever Kalok emerge from the forest.

"If you really plan to go," the Chief said with a smile, "then you're going to need an army to face that."

The native people of the Lost Continent did indeed have a contingency plan in the case that their old nemesis returned. Whoever made first contact would send word via birds of prey, specific to each tribe, to all the other native survivors. Together, they would form a powerful force to bring against the Magus. Since the Arians had been destroyed, the Kalok village took it upon themselves to send the warning.

By nightfall the first day, birds from others were already arriving. Within the next three days, almost all of the villages and tribes of the remnants of all three nations. When a day finally went by with no more word, plans finally began to be made. Falcons were once again sent out, this time giving orders of when and where to meet for the final preparations. It was decided to meet at the small wooded area just west of the Sands. They would wait three days for everyone to arrive before final preparations were made.

The whole process, from the first falcon to the final assembly at the woods, took about three weeks. Three weeks in which Astrid grew extremely agitated and impatient. Finally, the day before the battle had arrived, and the battle plan was constructed.

The Red Sands were… unique. Instead of giant sand dunes, the desert was pockmarked by small mounds of rock jutting up from beneath the grainy sand. These things were like baby mountains. The Magus had positioned themselves not far from the mountain gate, creating a large perimeter around it. There was not other option, the Vikings would have to fight their way through.

It was decided that the Aloceenian cavalry would charge in first, weaving around the rocks. The infantry would approach afterwards. The Vikings would stay behind in the sky, attacking after the Magus army was engaged. It was also decided that a small group from all three peoples come with the Vikings into the mountain as an escort.

The day of the battle was bright and hot. The Army of the Lost Continent set out at dawn, and reached their designated positions at around noon. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the sun scorched the desert beneath it. The army formed their ranks, the cavalry in front, then infantry, then the Vikings on a rocky dune behind them. The cavalry drew their weapons as their commander silently waved them forward. The battle had begun.

_**Dun-dun-dun. Finally, I'm done! I had meant to update last weekend, but I've been very busy, and people keep distracting me. I hope to update every weekend from now on, but I can't promise anything. Thanks for the reviews, keep 'em up! **_

_**Dark Guymelef**_


	13. Chapter 13

Chp. 13

The Bloody Red Sands

The Aloceenian cavalry charged forward, weaving in and out and around the jagged, rocky hills that filled the desert. The others began to follow them as they flowed around one mini-mountain to face one that might actually be classified as a mountain. The Vikings watched from their position as the Aloceenians prepared to go around either side of the mountain as well. The formation was just beginning to split in two when a sound reached the ears of the Vikings. It was almost imperceptible over the pounding of hooves on the ground. However, it was just loud enough for the Vikings to know what it was, the twanging of bows as they let their pointed missiles fly.

A sudden cloud of arrows flew over the edge of the mountain from the other side. They cast a large shadow over the cavalry below as the shafts turned earthward. The whistling missiles pelted the unsuspecting cavalry, causing many to fall. The screams of pain from both man and horse wrent the air. The survivors continued to split to swarm around the mountain.

The Magus were prepared for this. Their pikemen were deployed in front of the cavalry. Their long pikes and spears pierced many of the horses and their riders. Most of the surviving Aloceenian cavalry had lost their mounts, and were now fighting as footsoldiers. Soon, they were falling back towards reinforcements as more and more Magus poured in on top of them.

Astrid mounted Prince as Toothless, who was on a ledge just a few feet below her, turned to look at the Viking. Astrid nodded to him and the Night Fury snarled as he shot off towards the battlefield.

"Well, I guess that that's our queue," Astrid called to the others as she shot off into the sky; her companions following close behind her. The group formed up into a wedge, with Snotlout to Astrid's left and Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Fishlegs on her right. The group banked to the left, swinging around the large, rocky outcropping. Sure enough, just as Astrid expected, the side that they had been unable to see was crawling with Magus, most of which were archers.

A few stray arrows tried and failed to catch one of the dragons or their riders. In response, the dragons rained fire down on the mountainside. One by one, the Vikings dived at the scrambling soldiers. Prince let loose a volley of spikes as he flew by, taking down several archers. The others followed suit, continuing to pelt the Magus with their fire.

The infantry charged, crashing into the armored lines of the Magus soldiers. Bodies of men from both sides literally slammed against each other. The natives of the Lost Continent were skilled warriors, but they were going up against professional soldiers. The sounds of battle filled the air as the mountain and the area around it became a giant melee fest.

Skousen was one of the first to enter the fray. He ran onto the dried up bed of a ravine and ducked as the Magus began to jump into it. The young man stabbed upward, catching a few of the soldiers by surprise, causing them to crash on the ground in a heap.

He turned, bringing his sword the clash with an ax from the enemy. Skousen withdrew and ducked as the Magus swung at his head. He stabbed forward, his blade piercing the soldier's chest. As that enemy collapsed, Skousen moved on. He showed great amounts of expertise and skill with the blade as he outmaneuvered his opponents. Soon, the young man had hewn down at least a score of the armor-clad men.

However, the black flood continued. Despite the skill of his allies, Skousen could tell that the experience of the Magus was beginning to show. He fought from one place to another, attempting to aid as many as he could. He found one man pinned to the ground, his captor standing over him, ready to strike. Skousen moved swiftly, first knocking the blade from the soldier's hands, and then striking him in the chest before he could recover from the surprise.

The man got to his feet and thanked Skousen, only to have his life ended in a split-second. Skousen felt something whistle past his face, and the man whom he had just saved suddenly fell to the ground with a large spear sticking from his chest. He spun around to face the enemy, finding that a new wave of Magus was approaching. These men looked bigger and meaner, their armor was certainly heavier.

At Chief Kroukanan's command, the scattered allies fell back and reformed their ranks, preparing to meet the Magus. Just before the new wave fell upon them, however, a very loud screeching sound filled their ears. Everyone, including the Magus, searched for the source.

A black streak leapt into the air from behind the allies. There was a flash of blue, and a huge hole was ripped into the Magus frontline as their soldiers disappeared in a cloud of fire. Toothless landed between the Magus and their opponents, snarling menacingly. He gave a roar before leaping at the nearest soldier.

The allied forces took this as a signal and charged, the blades of their weapons flashed in the sunlight as they attacked the Magus storm troopers. As Skousen had predicted, these new opponents wore thicker armor, and most blows just glanced off of them. The joints were the weakest spots, and even those were reinforced.

The heavy armor may have protected them from their human opponents, but it made little difference when it came to fighting Toothless. The Night Fury couldn't fly, but it was using every weapon at his disposal. A swish from his tail knocked several of the soldiers off their feet, while his powerful claws and razor-sharp teeth tore into their armor. A single blast of blue flame could take down a dozen of them at once if they were grouped together close enough.

Another arrow whistled past Astrid's ear. Prince squawked angrily in response. He seemed to be getting peeved at the constant flying pieces of wood and metal. The dragon dived, catching the culprit in his talons and soaring back into the sky before letting the archer fall to the ground below. Prince banked to the right, coming in to unleash another firestorm. However, only sparks emitted from the dragon's mouth, and they crashed into several of the unfortunate Magus.

Astrid dismounted from the reptile and was immediately attacked. She easily dodged the first attacker, bringing the blunt side of her ax against the back of his head. Spinning around, Astrid turned the weapon so that the next soldier received the blade to his chest. She then struck upward, taking down yet another opponent.

One of the Magus was Astrid's back, preparing to strike. Astrid turned when she felt extreme heat behind her and found the soldier reduced to ashes. She looked to the sky and saw Fishlegs and his Gronckle flying overhead.

"Don't worry Astrid, I've got your back!" Fishlegs called to her.

"Thanks!" Astrid yelled back, "Fishlegs! Watch out for that… rock." She cringed as her friend crashed into the mountainside. Her attention was diverted however, as the enemy pressed down on her once again.

Fishlegs grumbled as he got up, slightly dizzy. He took a few staggered steps before coming to lean against a large, unbalanced boulder. The additional weight from the large Viking was too much for the huge chunk of granite, and it rolled from beneath Fishlegs. He almost fell flat on his face and looked up to see the boulder tumble down the hill, crushing any Magus that weren't fast enough to get out of its way. As the rock rolled out of sight, the soldiers, who had also stopped to watch the spectacle, turned and advanced up the mountain once again.

Fishlegs got up and quickly retrieved his hammer. He spun around, catching a storm trooper in the head. Another opponent attempted to jab him with a javelin, but the Viking managed to bat it away just in time. Fishlegs charged down the mountain, swatting the Magus away like flies. Meanwhile, his Gronckle provided support with huge chunks of fire and molten rock.

However, Fishlegs' size was not doing much to help him in this situation. The more he crushed with a swing from his crude hammer, the more appeared crawling up the rock. He stood at the edge of a small ledge that jutted from the side of the mountain. From here he could easily catch the tops of the soldiers' heads as they approached. Sweat poured down every inch of his body as his frustration grew. Then, a call from his dragon caused him to turn around.

While his back had been turned, the enemy had silently surrounded him. Apparently there were too many for his Gronckle to keep up with. Fishlegs took a step back at the feeling of dozens of menacing stares targeting him. However, with half his foot hanging over the edge, he knew he could go no farther. Mustering up his courage, Fishlegs stomped his feet and held his hammer at the ready, looking much like an ancient Scandinavian baseball batter.

Just as it looked like the Magus were going to charge the young Viking, there was a crack, a very loud crack, then another, and another. Fishlegs and the Magus looked down. Cracks were quickly forming between the ledge on which Fishlegs stood and the bedrock of the mountain it was attached to. Fishlegs had just enough time to look up, his eyes wide with shock, when the last remaining rock keeping him up broke apart. The ledge slid down the mountain like a child down a slide. The angle at which it had cracked fit perfectly to that of the mountain. Magus soldiers couldn't get out of the way fast enough. Wind rushed by Fishlegs as the rock plowed through the black mass. Fighting the wind, Fishlegs slowly made it far enough to look down at his destination. It happened to be a sand-filled ditch between the mountain and the boulder that he had already rolled.

The young Viking braced for impact. The ledge hit the ditch with tremendous force, and launched the teen into the air, his arms flailing. His dragon appeared from nowhere to catch him, but it took a good amount of strength to carry its master anywhere, much less catch him while in midair. Fishlegs hit his dragon dead on, and both tumbled toward the ground. They pulverized a sand dune, but that stopped their momentum.

Dazed, dragon and rider slowly got up and took in their surroundings. The had landed in a bowl-shaped deformation in the rock, and all along the ledge were black-clad Magus, their spears and other various weapons ready to skewer the two. However, having their attention focused on Fishlegs meant that they were not paying attention to anything else on the battlefield.

Snotlout watched Fishlegs and his dragon plummet to the ground. He had to admit, he was impressed. Fishlegs didn't usually show so much flair and daring. However, it looked like he had just landed himself into a world of hurt when he disappeared in the middle of the black mass. Time for Snotlout and his dragon to come to the rescue. He turned to the small group of archers that he had just saved from the Magus onslaught. They were also watching Fishlegs.

"We are going to save them," Snotlout stated matter-of-factly to the natives, "You guys are going to help. When I start diving, I want you to shower the area with arrows, be careful not to hit my friend or his dragon though." He flew into the sky after they nodded in agreement.

Snotlout flew high into the air, where he was no more than a speck in the sky. Then, he banked around and turned into a dive. The archers fired volleys of arrows into the crowd of Magus, disrupting their ability to effectively surround Fishlegs. Next, with only a few seconds left before he made contact with the ground, Snotlout and his dragon began to level out. The Monstrous Nightmare burst into a ball of fire and collided with the black crowd. The effect was like that of a fiery bulldozer. The flaming dragon proceeded to cut a swath through the ranks of the soldiers, until they reached the lip of the bowl-shaped dip.

"Thanks Snotlout!" Fishlegs shouted his appreciation to his friend.

"No problem. Fishlegs! Watch out!" Snotlout yelled and pointed to the other side of the bowl behind the Viking.

The enemy on the other side had not been affected by Snotlout's attack, and had mounted one of their own. The armored men climbed over the lip and slid down into the bowl with Fishlegs. The first one charged, his ax raised, but he forgot about the Gronckle, for which he paid the price. The creature dove at him, engulfing the upper part of the armor-clad body in its maw. The momentum carried them both away to reveal more soldiers trickling into the bowl.

Suddenly, a cloud of green smoke began to spill over the bowl's edge. Before it could get far, it erupted into a flaming explosion. Fishlegs was showered by bits and pieces of armor as Tuffnut and Ruffnut soared out of the resulting smoke, mocking the survivors of the blast.

Chief Kroukanan weaved around his opponent. However, the Magus read his movement and struck again, his blade barely slicing through the larger man's cloak. This was no normal soldier. The unique and ornate design of his armor, his cape, and his skill with a sword put him several levels above the rest. There was no doubt about it in the Chief's mind, this was the Magus General.

Kroukanan roared and swung his hammer with all of his might. Nurg'ka jumped away, but his sword was struck from his hands. It clattered down the rock a few feet away. The General gave a quick look at his fallen weapon before glaring back at the Chief. Swiftly, he drew a dagger from behind his back. He moved swifter than he had before, dodging the hammer with easy and making quick strikes that served more to just harass the beefy man. Chief Kroukanan began to step back, feeling the pressure from his opponent's strikes. Suddenly, Nurg'ka leapt back, a wicked grin spread across his face. He threw the dagger, which passed by Kroukanan's leg, slicing the skin open. The man roared in pain and staggered backward, falling from the rocky outcropping on which he and the General had been dueling.

The Chief slowly got to his feet, dazed and wincing in pain. A shadow passed over him as Nurg'ka landed in front of the Lost Continent native, sword in hand. The Magus commander charged, striking relentlessly at his wounded opponent. Finally, as they entered the shadow of the outcropping, Chief Kroukanan stepped wrong, gave a cry of pain, and fell to his knees. General Nurg'ka planned on showing him no mercy, and prepared to strike at the Chief's neck. Just as he was about to swing, however, he gave a cry of pain. A red, blood soaked blade protruded from his chest, and was swiftly removed. The General crumpled in a heap on the ground. Skousen stepped over the body and helped Chief Kroukanan to his feet.

"Thank you Skousen," the Chief said, breathless as his savior turned around and picked up Nurg'ka's weapon. "You really are a great fighter, you kn-!" Skousen spun around, running the Chief through with the Magus blade. Kroukanan coughed and spluttered as he fell down again. Blood seeped from his mouth and nose as he struggled for air. After a few seconds, he stilled, the life gone from his eyes. Skousen smiled and, satisfied that he had not been seen, turned to leave. He didn't get far however, because he turned to find a large, black dragon glaring menacingly at him. Toothless didn't trust him anyway, so the act he had just witnessed had him convinced of Skousen's treachery.

"Now, now," Skousen tried to calm the angry reptile as he stepped back. The Nightfury slowly began to advance on the traitor. Skousen carefully watched the dragon's body, and rolled out of the way when Toothless lunged at him. He quickly got to his feet only to roll away again to avoid a blue blast of flame.

Astrid observed the battlefield from the sky, the Magus numbers were beginning to thin, and they were starting to fall back. It seemed that the dragons did more damage than was expected. She circled around, scanning the ground for her friends. The other Vikings and their dragons were easy enough to find. They were leading charges into the retreating army. Toothless was the one that Astrid was really worried about. He had been acting on his own this whole time. Not finding him, she and Prince circled around again.

Then she spotted him. On the outskirts of the battle, near a rocky hill, the dragon was trying to take down a man who was doing a very good job at staying alive. Two still, unmoving figures also shared the same outcropping on which the two were running back and forth. Upon closer inspection, Astrid found that it was Skousen who was dodging around Toothless. He seemed to be trying to calm the enraged beast, which was definitely not working. Astrid quickly pulled Prince into a dive so as to save the man's life.

She leapt off the dragon's back when he was a few feet off the ground and ran to Toothless. The black dragon was baring his fangs at Skousen and was about to leap forward again when Astrid suddenly flung herself between them. The Nightfury shrank back, still growling and glaring at Skousen.

"He was here when I arrived, he went berserk on me all of a sudden," Skousen explained as he panted.

Astrid slowly put her hands on Toothless' head in order to soothe him, "Shh. It's ok Toothless. The battle is over now; no one is trying to hurt you. Come on now, you're ok, everything is all right."

Slowly, Toothless calmed. His breathing slowed, and he showed no signs of struggling, though he was still glaring at Skousen. Astrid backed away a little bit and Toothless huffed as he walked away. Astrid almost ran to stop him as he got dangerously close to the man. However, after giving Skousen a look that clearly told him he was being watched, Toothless stuck his head in the air, closed his eyes, and began to arrogantly strut away. Astrid sighed in relief, that is until Toothless' tail whapped Skousen across the face and knocked him over.

"Toothless!" Astrid scorned as she ran to the fallen man's side. The dragon showed no signs of hearing her and continued to walk away. Astrid turned and helped Skousen up. "Are you alright?" She asked as she brushed his shoulder-length hair away to see what damage had been done. He slowly raised his hand and caught hers between his palm and his cheek.

"Yeah, I'm all right. Thanks for saving me."

Astrid almost got lost in the moment, staring into Skousen's eyes, when her heart brought an image of Hiccup to her mind. Astrid quickly pulled away, "Well… that's good to know." She turned and headed back to Prince, her body shaking as a sickly feeling welled up in her stomach.

Well, I'm back! I'm really sorry everyone for taking so long. Once I got caught up in school I found myself without time to work on this. But now I'm back to see this thing through to the end! Thanks again for your reviews!

**Dark Guymelef**


	14. Chapter 14

Chp. 14

Wyverns & Nightmares

Astrid looked behind her as the small troop trudged on. She could barely see the mountain on which their battle had occurred yesterday on the dusty horizon. That night the survivors held a funeral for the dead, but especially for the brave Chief Kroukanan, who was felled by the Magus General. Then they celebrated their victory, which to an exhausted Astrid seemed well earned.

The new chieftain of the Kalok asked for volunteers to go with the Vikings into the mountain the next day, seeing as how they would be headed in the same direction as the remnants of the Magus army. Before the battle, no one would have volunteered, but after losing so many friends and seeing the way the Vikings and their dragons fought, there was no shortage. They left early the next morning, their party now numbering over sixty. The only disadvantage to this was that the group couldn't fly so that they could stay together.

The troop had been moving all day, and the colossal mountain in front of them had certainly grown in size, but the massiveness of the land formation made it difficult to tell just how close they really were. Astrid sighed as she heard Tuffnut and Ruffnut begin to argue again, this time over the sand that the wind was constantly whipping around them. The Vikings had been given Kalok cloaks for the journey, but Astrid had to admit that the wind and sand was still annoying. She was really beginning to miss their small, cold, sand dune-free island.

That night, the company stopped and set up camp, Skousen told the Vikings that they were almost there, and would likely reach the door to the mountain before noon the next day. The Vikings swiftly put up their tents, eager to get out of the path of the merciless wind. They set them in a circle close together, so the wind had very little chance of reaching them.

The Vikings and their dragons sat in a circle around a small fire they had managed to build, roasting game hunters had brought back earlier that day. "Where the heck did they find these things?" Tuffnut wondered aloud as he turned his dinner over the fire, "I didn't see any life at all today."

"Well, you probably just weren't looking hard enough," Ruffnut jabbed.

"Oh yeah? Did you see any?" Her brother asked.

"No, but I wasn't really looking. I'm sure I would have if I wanted to you, unlike you Bat Eyes."

Astrid sighed and stretched out as the twins erupted in a hurricane of insults for what had to be the fifth time that day. Fishlegs and Snotlout had given up, and made no move to stop the bickering siblings. Astrid's mind and stomach churned as a slew of emotions flowed through her. She was excited, now that they were so close, yet agitated by the length still left to travel. The blonde was becoming annoyed by the deceptive size and distance of the land here. Why in Thor's name did everything around here have to be so freaking huge? There was also a slight fear and nervousness at the thought of what awaited them. The Nightmares of the ruins were apparently only things found in horror stories. Then there was confusion about Skousen. Astrid had warmed up to him quickly and felt comfortable in his presence, yet there was another feeling while she was with him, one she had never felt before. Whatever it was, it bugged the young woman to no end.

They left early again the next morning, just as the sun was beginning to peak over the sand dunes. As the group trudged on through the sand and wind, the Vikings began to notice that their reptilian companions were becoming increasingly tense. There was no doubt that they could sense the Wyverns of the mountain ahead. After about four hours of traveling, they finally found the base of the mountain. The troops' pace quickened, they were all eager for a change of scenery. Within another forty-five minutes, they had reached the massive stone doors that were set into the surrounding bedrock. It's sheer size made the Vikings look in awe; to think that someone built that?

As they approached the doors, the troop found them to already be cracked open. Thousands of footprints led the way into the dark cavern beyond. "It looks like the surviving Magus did go this way," Skousen commented as he pointed to an armor clad body leaning against one of the doors. He had probably bled out and then been abandoned by the fleeing army.

For a few minutes, no one moved. It seemed like everyone was having second thoughts about entering the ominous cave. Its presence brought the legends and stories to the forefront of the troop's minds, chasing away all thought of glory and revenge. Finally, Astrid gave a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and marched into the looming darkness, flanked by Prince and Toothless.

Snotlout watched her for a second before covering his nervous look with one of confidence and bravery. He and Firedrake followed the Viking woman, his insides squirming and his whole body shaking. Skousen, the other Vikings and their dragons, and the rest of the Lost Continent natives behind them soon followed him.

At his command, Snotlout's Monstrous Nightmare became a giant, fire-breathing torch. The light from the dragon lit the massive tunnel that they marched in. Astrid looked about her. Tall stone pillars that lined the walls held up the roof of the tunnel. The rock walls were ragged and worn from thousands of years of exposure. Fishlegs gulped audibly, and the Vikings followed his gaze to the roof, where hundreds of giant stalactites pointed down at them.

It was surprisingly warm in the tunnel, and the extra clothing donned for protection against the wind and cold desert night was quickly abandoned. Every once in a while, the group would spot something from a piece of armor to another body, all showing further evidence that the Magus had run through here.

The tunnel was long, and they travelers couldn't tell how far they had gone nor in which direction. Finally, after what felt like hours, they began to see a light. A reddish glow lit the cavern walls, while the temperature steadily increased. The tunnel ended abruptly, opening into a colossal chamber. The light, as well as the heat, emanated from a pool molten rock that filled the bottom portion of the chamber. It reminded Astrid an awful lot of the dragons' island back home.

"Woah!" Snotlout breathed as he looked over the edge of the rocky ledge they were standing on.

"Sir," on of the Kalok soldiers addressed Skousen, "I see the exit!" He pointed to another opening to the chamber, just a few feet above the magma. The group followed a staircase to their right down to it.

The opening led them into another large chamber lit by a river of magma. At the river's entrance to the cave, it immediately fell several feet into the bottom of the chamber where it seemed to disappear into a wall. A stone bridge barely large enough for two humans to walk side by side connected their side of the room to the other side. At the opposite end of the bridge was yet another dark hole in the rock that connected this room to whatever was on the other side.

This was the same everywhere they went. Every room and tunnel the troop traveled through was lit by magma in some way, often far beneath them. Paths lined the walls, bridges crossed rivers of molten rock, and cave after cave awaited the company. The group lost all track of time, not knowing weather it was day or night, having to rely on the messages of their bodies to determine when to rest, set up camp, or eat.

Snotlout angrily kicked a rock into the broiling river below. The company had finally found a spot large enough for all of them to set up camp for the third time since entering the mountain. He grunted in frustration as he returned to his circle of friends, sweat running into his eyes. The Vikings were not dressed for this heat, this constant frying temperature. It felt like they'd been in an oven for three days.

"Grrr! This is so stinking stupid!" Snotlout vented as he sat down on the stone floor, "We don't even know if we're going the right way nor where we are! If we ever find Hic—"

"Snotlout!" Ruffnut cut him off before he could finish his sentence. She gestured over to Astrid, who was sitting on a rock looking out over the magma pool below. Astrid made no sign that she had heard Snotlout, and continued to stare blankly into space. Snotlout's features temporarily changed to one of guilt before he began mumbling under his breath.

However, Astrid had indeed heard him, loud and clear. She had been thinking the same thing. For what they supposed to be three days, the group had wandered the caves of the mountain in this insufferable heat. They had no idea where they were going or how far they still needed to travel. Doubt had begun to cloud her mind, and with it came an increased longing for her husband to come back. The thought of living without him was crushing, no matter how fleeting it was. She slammed the rock on which she sat in frustration, her eyes beginning to water.

Something nudged the blonde's shoulder and she turned to see Prince and Toothless watching her, concern in their eyes. Astrid smiled slightly as she fought back the torrent that threatened her. She patted Toothless' nose while leaning against Prince's head.

"Astrid?" The young Viking turned to see Skousen behind her, eyeing Toothless nervously as the dragon glared back, "Our scouts have just returned. They said that they found something." A small glimmer of hope returning to her eyes, Astrid eagerly got up and followed him.

The rain continued its relentless onslaught on the island, the storm an ominous warning of what was about to occur. A party of black clad men crashed through the brush as they ascended the mountain. Finally, they entered a small clearing. Immediately in front of them was a hut nestled snuggly between two boulders. Upon their leader's command, the men drew their swords and advanced on the cottage. Their leader strode forward menacingly, his black cape flapped about in the wind, his red eyes filled with a cold fury. He didn't even bother knocking, but smashed right through the door into the hut.

Zagala looked up as her front door splintered into a hundred pieces. Aries stormed into the room, flanked by several of his knights. Zagala stared into his eyes of evil, a sort of mocking mirth in her own. The ruler pointed to the witch with his blade.

"You are a treacherous woman Zagala," Aries' voice held no mercy in it, "For that you must pay. I also believe you have a banshee's whistle. Hand it over to me and I will make your death quick and painless."

"Hahahaha!" Zagala cackled, "Like I would ever bow before you, Aries Shadowfang!" With inhuman reflexes, the old, frail woman grabbed a staff with a blue crystal set in its top. She pointed the crystal at Aries, who was suddenly struck as a bolt of electricity flew from the unknown mineral.

Aries staggered back, grunting in pain. It looked for a moment as if Aries would fall to his knees and drop his sword. However, he stood suddenly, the electricity flying off his body and smashing several objects in the hut to pieces, including Zagala's staff. Before the witch could react, the villain countered with his own attack. A gaseous black substance flowed from his hand and condensed into an ornate dart-type object that flew at the woman, striking her in the stomach. It disintegrated on impact, but the resulting smoke seemed to be sucked into her body where she was hit.

Zagala gasped in pain as she sank to the ground. She raised one shaky arm and grabbed an object from her table. It looked like she was going to smash it into the ground, but the strength in her arm failed her and the object rolled across the floor to Aries' feet. The man stooped down and picked up the object, which looked like a whistle made from miniscule bones. Smiling, he put the object in his pouch and approached the witch, sheathing his sword at the same time.

Zagala sat there, struggling to breathe. Her eyes betrayed the immense pain she was suffering, while she couldn't even gather the air to scream. Slowly, Aries noticed a darkness creeping through her veins, turning the vein black and the surrounding skin slightly green. He smiled and chuckled inwardly as the blackness spread, and the light slowly faded from the witch's eyes, until she no longer even tried to breathe.

Satisfied, Aries turned and headed for the door. "Burn everything," he ordered his men as he passed them.

The scouts led the group to a dimly lit fork in the tunnel. The diverging paths led into complete darkness, which meant that torches and Firedrake would be needed. As the torches were handed out and lit, Skousen, the Vikings, and a few others discussed how the two paths would be explored.

"We'll take a few men with us and use the path on the right," Skousen said as he motioned to himself and the Vikings. "The rest of you use the path on the left. We'll meet back here in about three hours."

"Sounds good to me," the head of the scouts replied. "Our numbers should make up for the loss of the dragons."

So, the group went their separate ways. About ten men went with the Vikings, while the rest headed down the other route. With the mobile torch of a dragon, the other group proceeded into the waiting gloom. Shortly after having entered the tunnel, the group began to feel the telltale strain of going uphill as the path began to climb. For what Astrid was sure to be hours, their group ascended the path. She began to wonder if they would even make it out of the tunnel before they had to turn back.

Just as she began to wonder about this, however, the tunnel ended. The path leveled out completely and the group found themselves in the largest room they had been in yet. The light from Firedrake and the torches barely reached the far side of the massive chasm. The room was spherical in shape, with the walls, ceiling, and floor stretching far from the entrances and the large bridge that connected them. The most unique thing about this room, however, was the dozens of large tunnels across the floor, walls, and ceiling that emptied into the cavern.

Gaping in awe, Astrid proceeded further onto the stone structure connecting the exits. Since everyone was too busy admiring the impressive size and unique features of the cave, no one had even bothered to look at what was scattered across the bridge. They became aware of the cluttered ground only as Astrid stepped on something that emitted a loud crunching sound. She looked down and fought the urge to jump as she stepped back. Half of a human skull stared up at her, the other half having been ground to bone dust by her foot.

The group now observed what parts of the bridge that were illuminated by their fires' light. Skeletons littered the ground, often encased within black armor. Snotlout was so shocked; he took a step back, not bothering to look at what was behind him. No one even noticed the black piece of steel that once protected a shoulder go flying off the edge, that is until it hit the ground below and bounced into one of the tunnels. The echoes of its contact with the rock were terribly loud and filled the whole room.

Everyone turned to glare at Snotlout, the only person to move since Astrid stepped on the skull. The Viking twins opened their mouths to release a barrage of insults, but Astrid cut them off when she asked for silence.

"Guys! Listen!" Astrid commanded.

The group strained their ears to hear what the blonde heard. A very, very faint sound reached them. It was too quiet to tell what it was, but they continued to listen as it grew louder; its source drawing ever nearer. Soon, the sound itself became loud enough to hear over its many echoes. It was a sound that caused some of the Lost Continent natives to quake in fear, a sound that made the Vikings' hearts pound as adrenaline pumped excessively through their veins. It was a sound that earned growls and the baring of teeth from the dragons; it was the unmistakable beating of wings.

Astrid watched the darkness closely as she sought the source of the sound. Soon, she saw a dark shape emerge from one of the barely lit tunnel entrances. The thing flew at them, rapidly gaining speed as it grew in size. It was easy for those from the island of Berk to tell that it was about the size of a Monstrous Nightmare. The creature closed in, the light from the torches and Firedrake illuminating its two muscular legs, a powerful tail, and a diamond-shaped head.

"Look out!" Astrid yelled as the group ducked and dodged to avoid the wyvern's tail as it smashed against the bridge, causing the rock to crack and shudder from the impact. The creature flew to the other side of the room before turning, letting out a raspy roar. The sound's echoes were far too loud and way too many for Astrid's liking. Quickly, she turned to the other occupants of the bridge and cried, "Run!" But it was too late. Fire jettisoned from the half-dragon's great toothy maw, striking the bridge at the same location as the beast's tail. The cracked rock was blown quickly away leaving a gap that separated Toothless, Skousen, and the natives from the rest of the Vikings and their dragons.

At first, nothing happened. Everyone just stood rooted to the ground as they watched the explosion. The Vikings' attention was quickly drawn away from it, however, as cracks rapidly spread throughout their side of the bridge. The other side was close enough to the wall for the rock to support, but their side was out in the middle of the chamber with the nearest support being on the far side of the room. Even without the additional weight of the dragons and their masters, the bridge was going to give way to gravity.

Without wasting a moment, the young dragon riders got on the backs of their scaly friends and took off as the rock fell away beneath them. As Astrid scanned the room for their opponent, she noticed how many of the tunnels had faint, orange glows to them. Very quickly more Wyverns emerged from the glowing tunnels, unleashing tongues of flame from their mouths as they did so.

Within minutes, the chasm turned into a fiery shooting gallery. While the wyverns had unlimited shots and stronger legs and tails, they were not as fast and maneuverable as the dragons and lacked the finesse and technique they gained from having a rider. The dragons easily dodged out of the way of incoming fire, while still being able to land a blow of their own. Support was given by Toothless and some Kalok archers from just inside the cave entrance as the flying creatures created what would have been a magnificent show if it weren't so dangerous.

However, Boulderhead did not have the speed of the other dragons. The wyverns shot past the Gronckle and his rider without any problem. However, the lack of speed was made up for by easy maneuverability. Fishlegs and his dragon were capable of make very sharp turns, allowing them to avoid coming fire and half-dragons.

"Yeah-ha-ha!" Fishlegs cheered as the two avoided another head on collision for the third time, causing the wyvern chasing them to crash into the one attempting to ram them. "Take this!" The large Viking yelled as he chucked his hammer, the large stone twirling through the air before striking a wyvern in the head. The weapon was snatched from the air by Prince's talons and dropped back into its owner's arms.

Pisces flew into one of the tunnels as Tuffnut and Ruffnut began to put a surprisingly ingenious plan into action. Four of the wyverns followed the Zippleback into the tunnel. The twins quickly discovered that all of the tunnels were linked in a massive maze that must have taken up quite a bit of the mountain. As they twisted and turned through the maze, the head on which Tuffnut sat began to issue the flammable smoke that filled the air behind them. Ruffnut and her head took over the piloting as they zoomed on, cheering when they heard one of the reptilian creatures behind them crash into a wall. This was soon followed by another crash as yet another wyvern blinded by the green cloud collided with rock.

One of the wyverns, however, was doing a very good job of keeping up with the two teens and their dragon. It growled angrily at them as its head bobbed in and out of the green smoke. Finally its jaws opened, a red-orange glow coming from its throat.

"Tuffnut, now!" The female twin called to her brother, who guided his head around to face the beast. The gas head spat a large puff of smoke at the wyvern, which was followed immediately by a spark from Ruffnut's head. The creature disappeared in a ball of flame as the puff ignited, causing a chain reaction that followed the whole length of the cloud, essentially causing a contained but massive explosion.

Astrid ducked as the talons of a wyvern came dangerously close to he head. A slight tug told her that one of them had caught her braid and taken some of her hair with it. Annoyed, the blonde brought Prince into a dive as they pursued their most recent attacker. Prince caught the reptile's head in his claws, throwing it against the wall. The Nadder took off, just avoiding a ball of flame.

Astrid looked to the entrance to the cave. Fishlegs and Snotlout had joined the group by the entrance, their flame joining the Night Fury's as they shot at passing wyverns. Snotlout whooped as Firedrake tackled one of the half-dragons that made the mistake of landing. It looked like the creature was going to through the dragon off, but that was before the Viking's mace clubbed it across the head.

Another tongue of flame barely missed Astrid and her Nadder. She looked over her shoulder, watching as the half-dragon behind them readied another shot, the light from its throat glinting off of the creature's teeth. "Prince, your tail!" Astrid yelled hurriedly. The dragon brought its tail around, spikes extending from it. The Deadly Nadder lived up to its name as it flicked the appendage, launching the spikes into the unsuspecting beast's mouth. The creature howled in pain as it fell to the stone floor.

"Astrid!" Ruffnut called as Pisces flew up to Prince, "Let's get out of here!" The woman yelled over her brother's cries of "I'm hurt! Oh, I'm very much hurt!"

"Right," Astrid replied, "follow me."

"Get out of the way!" Astrid yelled to those standing in the entrance to the cavern. They scrambled out of the way as the Nadder and the Zippleback dived, crashing into the tunnel. The rest backed out of the chasm after them, Toothless firing at the rock above the entrance to cause a cave-in just in time to block a large wave of fire.

Astrid got up dizzily. She reached her arm out and leaned against the wall as she waited for her head to stop spinning. Her dragon huffed as he got to his feet, shooting her a glare before starting to preen himself. Astrid looked around her to see everyone leaning against the walls or just laying on the ground, panting. Firedrake had once again lit himself on fire so as to provide light to the suddenly exhausted group. Pisces had both of its riders in its mouth to keep them from attacking each other. They had started blaming one another for the crash landing.

A hand rested on her shoulder, and Astrid turned to see Skousen watching her, concern written across his face. "Are you ok?" He asked, "You're bleeding." He reached up and brushed along her hairline, which started to sting. He pulled away when she involuntarily flinched at the unexpected pain, and she saw his thumb covered in blood.

"Y-yeah," She replied, that uncomfortable feeling was engulfing her stomach again, and "I'm alright, how are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you." He looked around at everyone else, which were starting to get up. "C'mon," his voice just loud enough for everyone to hear, "we need to head back."

The group set off, the trip this time was much shorter than before, since they were going downhill. They walked in silence, content just to believe alive. They arrived back at the fork and, seeing as no one was there, collapsed to rest as they waited for the other group to return. Astrid sat down, her eyelids heavy. Her mind quickly blanked as exhaustion overwhelmed her and she was lost to blissful sleep.

Astrid woke slowly, her head swimming. When she came to her senses, she found the rest of the group still asleep around the room. She didn't know how long they had slept, but she did know that she felt fully rested. Looking around, the Viking found no sign that the other group had returned. Did they run into trouble?

She walked over to where Skousen slept and shook him slightly. The young man stirred, then yawned and stretched before looking up at her sleepily, "What is it?"

"The others haven't come back yet," Astrid replied.

It took a second for Skousen's tired brain to grasp the meaning behind her statement, but once it did, he bolted upright. "We need to go after them," he said, "Help me wake the others."

The two went around the room, waking the dragons and the other human members of their small party. Once the sleepy troop learned that their comrades had not returned, they each woke quickly and began to feverishly prepare to go. As soon as they were all packed up, the troop headed down the left tunnel. It was exactly like the tunnel they had gone through, except that the ground sloped downward. For more than an hour, they walked down hill until finally, the tunnel opened up.

The party entered a small but cluttered room. On their half, three bodies of Magus soldiers were spread across the ground, wooden arrow shafts sticking out between joints in their armor. The other half of the room was filled with rubble and the remains of two large, stone doors that had been knocked down from the other side. A cold air wafted up from the tunnel below, which steepened and fell away quickly into the darkness.

The group was about to start heading down the tunnel when a new sound reached their ears. Everyone immediately drew their weapons, ready to fight whatever was coming from the tunnel. The sound slowly grew louder, until everyone was sure that whatever was making it was practically in what used to be the doorway. Then, a gloved hand slowly reached into their view from behind a slab of the door. There was a grunt of pain and a pant before someone slowly hoisted himself over the edge of the slab. His clothes told the party that he was an ally, and they began to wonder what was wrong when three arrow shafts were revealed to be protruding from his side. Quickly, everyone ran to his side, pulling him over the edge and laying him against the flat, stone surface. His breathing was short and shallow, the remains of another shaft poked out of his chest. He had been shot in the lung.

"These are our arrows," Skousen observed as he started tending to the man's wounds. "What happened? Where's everyone else?" His questions were urgent, but gentle.

At first, the man seemed to not have realized that anyone was there. At the sound of Skousen's voice however, his eyes widened, his breath quickened, and a new wave of sweat broke out on his pale skin. He spoke, but his eyes stared off into space, he was blind. "Th- the voice," his voice was weak and raspy, his words quick and desperate, "Everyone, insane, nightmares." He was cut off when he coughed, blood running down his chin.

"What happened?" Skousen questioned again, this time more firm.

"The voice," the man was only able to whisper. "Run, don't listen to the voice. Demon, voice!" He coughed again, and the remaining life left in his body left him. He died, his final words leaving an ominous atmosphere hanging over the party.

Skousen stood up and spoke to everyone, though he was still looking at the body before him. "Well, there you have it. This is the path that we must take to reach the underworld. However, there is no doubt, the Nightmares that have haunted folk tales for centuries await us as well. If anyone wants to go back, do so now, though good luck finding your way out of this mountain." He turned to Astrid, "Are you sure you still want to go?"

Astrid didn't say anything at first. An odd feeling of fear was welling up from inside her stomach. Then suddenly, she remembered her last conversation with Chris. She couldn't turn back. Not after getting so close, after everything she had said and done. The young Viking couldn't bear the thought of a world without Hiccup. She returned Skousen's gaze, fresh determination in her eyes, "I will go, whether I'm accompanied or not."

Her confidence spread throughout the group, lifting the fear that had gripped them. Seeing everyone's change of heart, Skousen voiced their unanimous opinion, "Then forward we go."

The ground in the tunnel ahead was broken up and uneven. The path was even steeper than the party had first expected. They descended as quickly and carefully as they could. Slowly, they began to become aware of another light besides Firedrake. It was a faint, gentle, white light. The ground quickly evened out, and the group walked through the exit to the tunnel.

Cool, fresh air greeted them. The light from the moon filled the valley in which they now stood. The sky was clear, and the gentle light illuminated the party's sudden surroundings. They looked around, seeing that the massive mountain reached for the darkness behind them. They had come out of an old stonewall that continued beyond their vision in both directions. Ahead of them, the group found the remains of a large city. The colossal building the Vikings had seen what felt like forever ago when they first arrived loomed in the distance. Inside there was the gate to the underworld.

The group proceeded forward, somewhat relieved to be out of the mountain. However, they slowly became aware of a sound that seemed to come from everywhere. It sounded like the low murmur of hundreds of voices, speaking so quietly that no words could be perceived. The dead man's message fresh in their minds, the group remained wary.

The city was silent except for their steps. It seemed like the very air they breathed was dead. Soon, a fallen pillar blocked their path. The party turned, planning to go down a different street to reach their destination. They stopped short, however, as they beheld a most gruesome scene.

The street opened up into a large square, one that had no doubt been very busy when the city was in its prime. What the party beheld, though, was the scene of a massacre. The bodies of Magus soldiers were everywhere; their blood stained much of the stone courtyard. The shocked group slowly crept forward, their own hate for these men diminishing by the minute.

Astrid stood over one of the bodies, studying it curiously. A very deep bite mark was evident in his neck, and his chest plate was torn up by something with four razor claws that were too small to have come from a wyvern. She looked to her right and noticed several bloodstains that looked like their sources had been dragged into a nearby building. Three of the Lost Continent natives had noticed this too and were almost to the building's worn entrance. Then, she heard it. The hundreds of low murmuring voices spoke as one, their new voice filled with a malicious intent.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" the voice asked.

Though it seemed to come from inside her head, the reactions of the others informed Astrid that they had heard it too. Then, a high-pitched, eerie howl echoed from the building to her right. Everyone turned to look at the three men standing in the building's ancient doorway. Something inside the building moved, something big. Suddenly, one man was pulled inside, his screams splitting the unnaturally quiet night. Another man was lifted into the air, something protruding from his back. The final of the three was launched from where he stood, his head smacking against a stone pillar. He sank to the ground and did not move.

The sounds of movement filled the city, and the square's living occupants knew that they were next. They looked around as shapes began to emerge from the shadows of the buildings. The first one to reveal itself, however, was the creature that had attacked first. Astrid looked back at it, true horror etched across her face.

The monster stood at least seven feet tall. It was humanoid in shape, its legs covered by several biological armored plates. It had two large, pointed claws for toes. One of its muscular arms turned into a blade at the elbow, while the other revealed five long, thin, razor-sharp claws. Its torso was a mass of muscle covered by more of the carapace-like armor. Its neck and head stuck straight out from a sort of indent in the armored muscle. Long fangs were visible even with its mouth shut. It had horns sticking out from the side of its head, and its eyes were just empty sockets. The creature had an armored hump on its back, from which stuck out many jagged spikes of various shapes and sizes. It was something from beyond even her worst nightmares.

And with another eerie howl, the Nightmare charged.

_**Finally! I was afraid that this chapter was never going to end! I hope you guys enjoyed it. I initially had to tone it down near the end to avoid a mature rating, let me know if you think I need to tone it down more. Also I'd like to know how much detail you guys would like for the return trip to Berk. Please review!**_

_**Dark Guymelef**_


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III

Astrid opened her eyes slowly. The blonde sat up and observed her surroundings, a look of bewilderment on her face. This looked oddly like her living room, but it couldn't be. Seconds ago she was with the others fighting those butt-ugly abominations. As she thought this, the Viking woman panicked. The others, she had to get back to them! Realizing that she needed to leave, Astrid whipped around to dash out of the room. Rather than running off to help her friends, however, she collided with something and fell down in surprise.

Astrid had not noticed that she wasn't the only one in the room. The young woman looked up at the man who had been watching her the whole time, ready to scorn him on creeping up on people. However, all words and thoughts were lost as she stared at a face she had missed more than anything in the world.

Hiccup gave Astrid one of those goofy grins she loved so much. He reached his hand out and helped her to her feet. She continued to stare into his eyes, unable to believe that he finally stood before her. Suddenly, she flung her arms around him and threw herself into his embrace. Very faintly, Astrid could have sworn she heard her name being called somewhere in the distance, and she had a strange feeling that something was wrong. The blonde Viking dismissed these thoughts almost immediately, not caring about anything except being in her husband's arms again. She felt one of his arms leave her back, and she pulled away enough to look at his face again.

Hiccup's arm jabbed forward, and Astrid staggered back in shock and pain. She looked down at the dagger hilt protruding from her stomach. Blood was beginning to soak the clothing around the wound. When she looked up, Astrid was sure that whatever stood before her was definitely not Hiccup.

The man before her gave her a cold and uncaring look as she sank to her knees. He spoke, but the voice that escaped his lips wasn't Hiccup's. It was a sound that a swiftly fading Astrid found oddly familiar. It sounded like hundreds of voices speaking in unison.

"Why would he except you?" the sinister chorus asked, "You're nothing but a weak warrior-want-to-be that allowed him to die. Did you honestly think he was going to wait for months for you to come get him? Hiccup hates and despises you, and he has every right to do so."

Maybe if she were in her right mind, the blonde Viking would have been defiant and confident, arguing with the intrusive voice. But as the world around her faded and she felt like her chest was being crushed, the words stung her heart. It seemed like it was being torn apart.

Astrid's head exploded in pain as the back of it connected with the stone ground. She groaned as the pressure on her chest suddenly vanished, and air found its way back to her lungs. She opened her eyes to see Skousen studying her worriedly. Astrid sat up, and the remains of a sinewy tentacle fell into her lap. Realization dawned on her as she found Toothless roasting the nightmarish creature that had held her in its grip moments ago.

The monster was burnt to a crisp, but that still didn't mean that they were safe. As Astrid allowed Skousen to help her up, she looked behind them to see a horde of the Nightmares and their mutant victims advancing on the small group. Somehow, her experience told her why the Lost Continent natives had suddenly gone insane and killed each other. For some reason Skousen, the other Vikings, and their dragons had remained unaffected by the mental assault the evil voice launched on her.

"Come on!" Skousen yelled. "We're almost there!"

Indeed, after what felt like an eternity of running, the first steps leading up to the gates of the massive citadel were finally within sight. It had taken them all night to reach it. Sunlight was beginning to stretch across the sky. The coming light was of no comfort to the small band of travelers however, because it only continued to illuminate the never-ending mass that charged after them.

The group turned and followed Skousen up the large steps leading to the citadel. The dragons bounded ahead, reaching the top step well ahead of their masters. The reptiles turned, and unleashed a furious volley of flame upon the charging horde. The mutant victims of the Nightmares went up like roman candles. Their mottled skin burned like oil. The pieces of armor fused to their bodies by the infection fell off as the remaining flesh burned away. The brutish Nightmares themselves caught fire as well, but continued their advance. Only those in the front ranks of the monsters burned enough to die. Their corpses were swiftly crushed as the horde continued on, unfazed by the fire.

As waves of heat passed over his head, Tuffnut chanced a quick glance behind him. When he did, his eyes landed on a mutant directly behind him on the steps below. His gaze connected with the creature's glazed eyes, and the thing went berserk. With a scream it quickened its pace and then leapt into the air towards him, its sword ready to strike. Such was the intelligence of this creature that it hadn't done this while his back was turned. The Viking turned around completely, stumbling up the steps backwards. He quickly readied his spear and launched it at the mutant. It pierced the mutant's torso, knocking it straight to the ground.

Tuffnut's cheer was cut short as he stumbled backwards and fell onto the steps. A look of fear crossed his features as the nearest monster launched its barbed tentacles forward. He held up his shield to defend himself from the tentacles. Two thuds reverberated through the stone step on either side of him. Tuffnut looked over the edge of his shield and watched as a cloud of green gas covered the Nightmare's face. Pisces' other head lit the green gas, which caused a chain reaction that almost instantaneously ignited the monster's entire head. The abomination roared and fell to the ground where it lay, motionless.

"Come on Tuffnut!" Ruffnut yelled as she grabbed the teen by his collar and pulled him up a few steps and to his feet. She turned, throwing her spear as hard as she could at a mutant that had gotten a little too close. It was thrown backwards into the mass by the spears superior momentum. Together, the twins sprinted after their friends.

The humans finally caught up to their reptilian allies as the latter proceeded to create a massive wall of flame between them and the horde, which showed little hesitation before entering the fire. Together, the group ran as fast as their legs could carry them toward the open gates of the citadel. When they entered, Snotlout and Fishlegs moved to shut the massive stone doors. Just as the first Nightmare became visible over the top step, the doors slid shut. A large stone slab fell to lock the gate in place.

Complete and total darkness fell over the Vikings and their friends for a few seconds before Firedrake once again turned himself into a living torch. The group took a breather as they looked around. They were inside a hallway that looked like it was built for a giant. The hall ran in either direction, where it curved just inside the light from Snotlout's dragon and disappeared into the darkness.

"Well this is just great!" Snotlout shouted angrily, "Where do we go now? I don't suppose you have some supernatural map in your head, do you Astrid?"

"No, I don't!" Astrid shouted back in frustration. They had gotten so far, were they now going to get lost inside this building with who knows how many Nightmares chasing after them?

The blonde Viking felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Skousen staring at her, a look of understanding and concern on his face. As she looked at him, his features changed to show solid determination. "Don't worry," he said, "we'll get out of this mess. All we have to do is choose a direction and go."

A couple of thuds suddenly shook the stone doors, causing dust and dirt to fall from them and the surrounding stones. The dim sound of a thousand Nightmares as well as that same low murmur of thousands of voices came from the other side. Another, more powerful thud rocked the doors.

"Well whatever direction it is, we should probably go now!" Fishlegs exclaimed.

But the decision was made for them. As swiftly as they could, the dragons gathered their masters on their backs and took off down the passage to the right. Their clawed feet clacked as they pounded the stone floor. After a few minutes, a thunderous crash echoed through the hallway, followed closely by hundreds of shrieks and screams as the Nightmare army busted through the doors.

The dragons ducked through a doorway in the wall, completely ignoring their masters' inquiries as to what they were doing. The doorway lead to another hallway that just continued further to the right. The dragons flowed with the hall, almost as if they had already been there before. Nevertheless, the shrieks from the terrors behind them did not quiet in the slightest. The Nightmares remained hot on their trail.

Several doors and passages later, the band of heroes became aware of two things. One, the passageways were getting brighter. Two, the shrieks were not only coming from behind them, but above them as well. Shortly after making this realization, the ceiling in front of them crumbled and one lone mutant dropped into the hall. Its unearthly shriek had only begun to escape its mouth before the five dragons trampled it.

Finally, the group entered a tunnel filled with light. They ran out into a large, circular room. The light that filled the room came from a massive whole in the ceiling that also revealed the second floor. In the center of the room was a pedestal that reached high into the air. The steps to reach it took up almost the whole floor. The dragons flew up the steps as if being pulled by some unknown force. Once they reached the top, however, they stopped, and nothing happened. Everyone, both human and dragon, looked around in bewilderment. Was something supposed to happen?

The shrieks continued to escalate in volume, as they seemed to now approach from every direction. The dragons nervously shifted into a circle facing outward towards the unseen threat. Their riders searched frantically, looking for some sort of switch. They were running out of time, however, as the monstrosities swarmed from every direction. They dropped from the massive opening in the ceiling as well as from the second floor. The Nightmares that had been chasing them poured from the doorway they had entered from.

Heat washed over the Vikings and their friends as the dragons pounded the approaching horde with all the firepower they could muster. From what they could see, an odd symbol had been carved into the top level of the pedestal on which they now stood. In the center of the symbol was a small, oval dip in the stone, but nothing that even remotely resembled a button or switch.

Snotlout did his best to stay calm as he looked helplessly at the unknown rune. This was made nearly impossible, however, by the ever increasing shrieks, growls, and that incessant, mumbled muttering that was also starting to increase. He heard something that sounded like a dry, gurgling cough and turned to see Boulderhead run out of shots. A similar sound was uttered from Firedrake a few seconds later. The Viking teen was almost in a panic when a thought came to him. He stared at the small dip in the stone slab as he remembered the words from the witch long ago.

"Astrid!" He shouted over the din of the fighting around them.

"What!" Came Astrid's impatient reply.

Snotlout pointed at the dip in the ground, "Your ring! Remember what the witch said? Put your ring in that dip!"

It was worth a shot, and as the Nightmares were now climbing the steps, there was no time to lose. The widow quickly removed her wedding ring from her finger and placed it in the center of the stone oval. Slowly, her ring floated back up until it was even with the lip of the bowl. Then suddenly, light burst forth from the ring. A red light filled the lines in the stone as it spread outward from the center. Once it reached the outer edge of the pedestal, it proceeded down the steps, lighting the inside edge of each step.

As if realizing what had happened, the Nightmares quickened their pace as they scrambled toward the top, but they were too late. Starting from the bottom step and moving toward the center pedestal, the stone steps began to drop into ground in a rapid fashion. The monsters fell on each other in a tangled heap as the stairs collapsed beneath them. When only the pedestal was left standing, the troop felt the stone pillar shudder, before it plummeted into the earth. But, unlike the steps, which had stopped once they became even with the floor, there was a loud crash like breaking stone as the center pedestal continued into the ground.

The room above the Vikings was quickly reduced to a tiny speck of light as the pillar descended so rapidly that they felt almost weightless. Finally, and rather abruptly, the group was surrounded by light as they and the pillar left the tunnel, and smashed against the ground.

Sometime later, Astrid stirred as she heard her name being called over and over again. Her head screamed in pain as she opened her eyes. At first, she just saw a blurry shape leaning over her. As her sight focused, the blur cleared and the shape became Skousen, his face etched with worry.

"Astrid," Skousen sounded relieved, though a still worried, "Astrid, are you alright?" He offered his hand and helped the Viking to her feet. Once she was standing, however, a wave of pain washed over her head and she staggered forward into his arms. "Whoa! Watch out," he said gently.

Astrid looked up at him and smiled as her headache faded away. She didn't know why, but she felt comfortable with him. That and giddy, giddy almost to the point of being groggy. She looked around them and found the others talking amongst themselves a little ways away. It was then that she noticed their surroundings.

It looked almost as if they were inside a cloud. White mist swirled around their knees, covering the ground as far as the eye could see, which was kind of difficult since the horizon was made invisible by the cloudy fog that filled the air. This made the point where the two mists met indiscernible. The only way you could judge distance was with the areas where the mist crawled up and over hills and boulders.

"Where are we?" The blonde warrior asked.

Skousen smiled down at her as he answered, "The underworld." His smile grew wider as Astrid looked at him with astonishment written across her face, "We made it Astrid. We made it."

Astrid felt uncontrollable joy well up within her. She could not quite remember why she felt so happy however. As she found herself staring into Skousen's eyes, her brain seemed to slow down. Her eyes began to close as she gave in to the urge to pull herself up towards him as his own face moved down towards hers. Their lips were mere centimeters apart when, as if sensing what was about to happen, Astrid's heart hijacked her brain.

Within the time frame of half a second, Astrid's brain went into overdrive. Images of her husband flashed across her mind, reminding her of the reason she had gone so far to reach this point. Her heart ached as the feelings of tremendous guilt and undying love washed over her. However, there was another emotion that grew along with these feelings, anger. Anger at the man she was so blindly about to kiss. He knew well why she was here, and had taken advantage of her heartache.

Skousen was stunned as, instead of the long awaited kiss he was expecting, he was slapped across the face so hard he fell to the ground. He rubbed his cheek as he stared at the glowering face of the woman he had tried to woo. Astrid just huffed, turned, and walked away. She beckoned her fellow Vikings and their dragons to follow her as she marched past them. Her friends silently obeyed, afraid to anger her further after witnessing the spectacle. Toothless brought up the rear of the group, giving Skousen a smug look as he left.

For hours, Astrid and her friends trudged through the mist over the rugged terrain, calling out for Hiccup. Still, the scenery did not change, and nothing answered their calls.

"We're lost!" Tuffnut complained loudly as he stumbled over an unseen rock. "For all we know we've been going in circles this whole time! Ow!" He yelled as his sister nailed his arm with her fist. She shushed him and looked worriedly over at Astrid, who had been silent for a while now, lagging a little behind the group.

Indeed, Astrid believed them to be lost. They had no idea where they were, where Hiccup was, if he was indeed here, and they had no clue as to how to get out. Discouragement settled in her heart once again as she longed for Hiccup to be with her. He'd think of something, he always did. Just when things seemed dire and hopeless, he would have a stroke of genius and solve their problems. The blonde Viking stopped, fighting back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her.

This was erased from her mind as a strong hand roughly grabbed her arm and spun her around. Astrid's voice died in her throat as she came face to face with Skousen, his face wild and his eyes filled with rage. One hand held her arm, keeping her there. The other hand held a razor sharp dagger. He was panting as if he had just run a marathon.

"If I can't have you," he muttered darkly, then he began to yell, "THEN NO ONE WI-caaaauggg!" His cry was cut short as the sickening sound of steel cutting flesh echoed faintly across the rocky, mist covered landscape. Skousen and Astrid both looked down in surprise at the steel blade, now red with blood that protruded from Skousen's chest. His breathing became short as he realized that the blade had gone straight through a lung. Then a voice whispered in his ear, a voice so filled with venom that if could have easily killed him by itself.

"Hands-off-my-wife," Hiccup stressed and clearly enunciated each word as he spoke it. Skousen gave a short gasp as Hiccup withdrew his sword from the man and he collapsed onto the ground. Hiccup kicked him away, just for good measure.

"Hiccup?" The young man looked up as the female standing before him whispered his name.

"Yep," He answered as he took out a cloth and cleaned his blade before sheathing it in its scabbard, "That's my name."

"HICCUP!" Astrid ran forward and launched herself into Hiccup before he even had a chance to raise his arms. As she felt him envelope her in his warm embrace, the blonde reached up, and pulled her husband's face down to hers as she brought her lips up to meet his. It was electrifying, feeling a long forgotten feeling of warmth spread from her lips and heart and fill her whole body. Once they needed air, they separated and stared into each other's eyes. "Hiccup," Astrid whispered before she yelled, "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"I love you too," Hiccup smiled and laughed as she pulled him tighter into her embrace.

"Hiccup!" The two looked up as the others cried his name and ran toward them, Toothless in the lead. Astrid reluctantly let go of Hiccup and backed away in order to give Toothless enough space to tackle his master to the ground. A deep, throaty purr emanated from the Night Fury as he nudged Hiccup affectionately.

"Its good to see you too buddy," Hiccup laughed as the black dragon backed off and let him get up. The young Viking smiled as he turned to greet the rest of his friends, only to find them staring at him with shocked faces. "What?"

Ruffnut pointed with a finger, and Astrid and Toothless followed the finger, shocks growing on their faces as well. Hiccup followed their gaze and looked back at them with a confused look. "What?" he repeated.

"H-Hiccup," Ruffnut stuttered, "Your leg, you've got your leg back!"

Hiccup looked down at his leg, only now remembering that it had indeed been lost before he died. "Well what do you know," he said, "I hadn't noticed that before."

"That's because your memories have been somewhat repressed while down here," a voice familiar only to the Haddocks came from behind Hiccup. They all looked to see Chris, dressed in his shining, silver armor, come forward pulling the reins of a large gold dragon about the size of Aries' dragon. "It seems some introductions are in order, I am Chris, former captain of the Magus' dragon knights. I have been the guide for Astrid up until your arrival at the Lost Continent, and Hiccup's sparring partner in the meantime."

A shriek far in the distance echoed across the plains to the group. Chris turned to the rest and said, "We should go. Entering here means the seal on the Nightmares has been broken. Mount your dragons and follow me."

They all mounted their dragons; Hiccup and Toothless particularly excited to be flying again, and launched into the air. They kept a tight formation to stay within sight of each other as they flew into the ever-denser cloud. Suddenly, the cloud dispersed, and a sudden powerful tongue of flame slammed into a ceiling that had blended in with the cloud. The rock cracked and weakened, and the gold dragon rammed through it as if it was paper. The other dragons followed close behind, soaring above the cursed city into daylight.

They were free.

**Well, this chapter is done; now the real fun part begins, though I really liked writing the last little bit of the chapter. I'm sorry once again for being so slow, and I want to thank all of you for being so persistent. Let me know what you think!**

**Dark Guymelef**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Liberation

Astrid woke with a smile upon her face. She felt Hiccup's arms around her waist and his breath upon her neck as she reveled in the joy of no longer being a widow. She rolled over to stare at his sleeping face. Beyond him, Astrid found she wasn't the only one awake. Though his body was hard to see in the dim light, the Viking woman could clearly find one green trained steadily on Toothless' beloved master. Prince was next to the Nightfury, still asleep.

The wooden floor creaked and the whole room tilted slightly as Astrid carefully freed herself from Hiccup's arms and crossed the room to the door. The light shining in from the two windows signaled that it was daylight, though fog prevented anyone from seeing very far. The young Viking opened the door only to find a man clad in his ever-present silver armor about ready to knock on said door.

Quickly recovering from his surprise, Chris spoke, "You guys need to get up. We've reached Berk." He looked at the floor as Astrid gave a small gasp before looking back at her with sympathy, "It's not a pretty sight." He then turned and headed back to the deck of the ship.

Astrid returned to her husband's side and gently pressed her lips to his. Hiccup's eyes fluttered open as she pulled away. He looked at her for a second before yawning and stretching. Astrid just smiled at him.

"Get up," she said, "we're home."

The group left the Lost Continent via one of the large vessels the Magus had used to reach the hidden land. After sailing in a fog for a few days, they had finally emerged at Maelstrom Island. There they found Ivan the Plunderer aboard the _Freedom_. He was sent by Zagala to wait for their return. The large Viking was ecstatic to add their ship to his fleet. Together, they sailed for the witch's island.

Everyone was saddened when they discovered the hut that had been reduced to charcoal. After discussing what to do next, they decided to go and rescue their friends and family from the Magus clutches on Berk. As they sailed for their home island, Ivan filled the group in on what had happened while they were gone.

After the battle for Berk, the new Magus emperor Aries Shadowfang attacked all the other Viking villages that they had encountered. Those that survived were brought to Berk where, along with the surviving native Vikings, they were force to live under terrible conditions. The Vikings were being forced to rebuild their village, now to accommodate a population three times the size of the original, with almost no food and water. The once strong people were now starving, tired, and weak. Disease was rampant amongst them and severe. Yet, no matter how much they suffered nor how weak they became, the Vikings just wouldn't die. All this seemed to be stemming from some strange crystal the Magus had brought to the village after their conquest.

It also seemed, according to Ivan, that the Magus villagers were none too happy with their new government either. They were only allowed outside for a certain amount of time each day. Afterwards they had to stay inside their homes. Those that were caught outside after this certain time would be thrown in prison. Those that spoke out against the new emperor would disappear until their bodies washed ashore a few days later.

Hiccup's stomach churned as he stood on the deck of the _Freedom_ and looked through a spyglass at the Viking village. The ship was far out from the island, hidden at the edge of the fog. Finally, the sight of the bony, chained Vikings was too much for the young man to bear. He thrust the instrument back into Ivan's hands and ran to the railing of the ship, where he proceeded to empty the contents of his stomach. A gentle hand rubbing up and down his back told him that Astrid was there, though her concerned face was turned to Ivan, Chris, and the other dragon riders.

"Where did you say the dragons were again?" Chris asked the Viking pirate as he tried to ignore the sound of Hiccup's vomiting.

"Dey're being held in some sort'a compound on the island. It's somewhere between the two villages."

Hiccup stopped vomiting and slowly turned around. Astrid held him at the waist for fear of his legs giving way beneath him. He was pale, but his eyes burned with fury. "Where do you suggest we hit first?" He asked.

Ivan looked him up and down before answering, "The greatest number o' troops is in yer village. If we took the Magus village first an' freed the dragons, dey would be much easier to take."

"Very well then," Hiccup said with determination and conviction in his voice, "we'll liberate the Magus village first."

It took a few hours for the Viking ships to sail around to the other side of the island. Here the fog was closer to shore, so they vessels got as close as they could without revealing themselves. The dragon riders mounted their reptilian allies and line up on _Freedom's_ deck, poised for takeoff. At Hiccup's silent hand signal, the dragons launched into the clouds. As they approached the village from above, the pirate vessels sailed for the Magus port.

Up in the sky, Hiccup turned to Snotlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Fishlegs on his left. With a nod of his head, they turned and dived into the clouds. In the village below, the Magus soldiers patrolled the streets in twelve person groups, each marching in two columns. Guards stood in groups of three at the entrances to the village. A large stone structure with a courtyard on the outskirts of the village was the garrison. The dragons emerged from the clouds so silently that the Magus had no idea what was happening as fire fell from the sky and began incinerate their patrols.

The explosions caused the soldiers to scatter everywhere. Their eyes turned skyward to the descending dragons and soon arrows rose to meet them. But, as they focused on the dragons in the sky, the Magus soldiers were completely oblivious to the Viking ships that emerged from the fog and docked at the port. The first guards had just been overwhelmed when a bell at the garrison began to ring, signaling a port invasion. Small groups of the armor clad soldiers ran to meet the pirates, but were easily defeated.

The Viking pirates advanced into the village, shouting to the villagers to join them and free themselves from their oppressors. Magus villagers emerged from their houses left and right carrying anything from family swords to cooking utensils and joined the Vikings in their fight. The Magus soldiers tried to halt their advance, but anytime a number of them would gather together, a ball of fire would be thrown in their midst, send soldiers and pieces of fried armor everywhere. The survivors would scatter, some charging uselessly at their foes, others falling back to regroup.

The cries of war and liberation filled the air. Snotlout's blood boiled and adrenaline pumped through his veins as the infectious energy of the fighters below flowed within him. From his position in the sky, he could see a large number of soldiers leaving the garrison and running into the village. He and his friends lobbed balls of flame at them, but the Magus army had numbers on its side. The force moved quickly to the pirates and their allies, cutting them down and driving them back. Some Vikings and villagers were isolated by the sudden retreat, and were quickly annihilated.

Smoke filled the sky as the army set houses aflame. The center of the village turned into a bloody melee as the two forces converged, neither willing to budge so much as an inch. Unfortunately, Magus soldiers were still spilling from the garrison to reinforce their line. Something had to be done. Snotlout shot high above the battleground and motioned for his friends to join him.

"We need to stop that garrison!" He shouted to the others and pointed at the large stone building. His friends nodded and waited to hear his plan. "Fishlegs! You keep helping everyone down there, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and I will take them out!"

"Okay!" Fishlegs shouted and dove for the village again. Snotlout motioned for the twins on Pisces to join him as he soared to the garrison.

Hiccup and Astrid continued to fly over the island, concealed in the clouds as they heard to explosions of the battle below and behind them fade away. For a while they flew in silence, and the two almost felt as if they were going on one of their leisurely flights before the Magus had come. However, their comfortable flight ended all too soon as a massive pit came into view. It extended far into the ground, its walls lined with row upon row of what looked like cell doors. It was eerily silent for housing so many dragons. Not far from the edge of the pit were three large wooden huts and a stone house. The two Vikings could barely make out a few black dots moving here and there in between the buildings. Some of them were grouped by the edge of the pit, next to staircase that ran down along the wall.

Hiccup and Toothless drifted as close to Astrid and Prince as they could. "I'll take their camp. You go free the dragons." Hiccup ordered.

Astrid opened her mouth to protest, "But I—"

"No buts Astrid!" There was the sound of pleading in his voice, "I let you come with me, please don't make this any harder!"

"But I don't want to lose you!" She shouted back at him.

Hiccup and Toothless suddenly spun in the air so that Hiccup's head was hanging upside down right next to Astrid's. "You won't," Hiccup stated firmly before planting a quick kiss on her lips. He and Toothless then slowed down and dived toward the buildings while Astrid and her Nadder turned toward the pit.

The black clad soldiers looked around in confusion as a low whistling sound filled their ears. It grew higher by the second, and by the time anyone spotted the source, it was already too late. One of the huts exploded into flames as a black shape streaked through the sky and disappeared into the clouds. Soon the noise filled the air again and another hut burst into flames, and then the other. Hiccup got a little careless on the last run and found himself diving straight into a storm of deadly arrows. The stone building exploded, debris raining upon the surrounding Magus warriors, but an arrow clipped Hiccups left bicep, tearing open a pretty nasty gash. He grunted in pain but continued to fly, raining fire on the scattered survivors.

Firedrake crashed into the courtyard. The flames across his body flew out on impact, lighting those who weren't crushed in the immediate vicinity on fire. Gaseous vapor poured out of the windows on an upper floor before the whole floor exploded. Stone showered the courtyard, causing Snotlout to have to raise his shield to protect himself and Firedrake from the falling debris. The towering building at the far corner of the courtyard crumbled as the supports on the destroyed floor gave way. The top part of the building fell, crushing the wall facing the village.

"Oops," Tuffnut muttered as he and his sister guided Pisces to check on Snotlout and Firedrake. Snotlout and his dragon were ok, covered in a thin film of dust and dirt, but ok. Snotlout glared at the twins as they flew by on Pisces.

"Hey!" He yelled, "What was that for?"

"It was her fault!" Tuffnut yelled back as he pointed to his sister.

She retorted, "It was so not my fault, it was yours!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

As the twins continued their bickering, Snotlout was forced to return his attention to the surrounding area. He and his Monstrous Nightmare were being quickly surrounded by a large number of the menacing, black clad soldiers. The young Viking took a step back and felt something tilt beneath his foot. He looked down to see a sword dropped by one of the burnt Magus lying on the ground.

He bent down and picked the weapon up, but stood quickly and turned as he heard a yell and the clank of rapid, armored footsteps. The sword was yanked from Snotlout's hand as the blade disappeared into the charging soldier. The man stumbled a little ways away and then dropped.

At first, nothing happened. Then, as if someone had silently given the command, the Magus warriors charged all at once. Snotlout ran into the mob expertly flailing his mace as Firedrake clamped his jaws on anyone foolish enough to approach. Snotlout ducked and weaved, clearing a small circle in the black mass. However, their numbers were winning out, and the young man soon found his back up against the scaly skin of his draconic friend as the enemy closed in. Now they took turns running forward to jab at the Viking and the dragon before running away the hurl insults and jeers at the two.

Finally, unable hold his rage, Snotlout charged once more. The first opponent fell easily, the mace leaving a large dent in his helmet as he fell. The Magus ranks quickly closed on Snotlout, and soon he let loose a cry of pain. His hand shot to his side and he looked down to see blood seeping from the wound. He stumbled over backwards out of the black crowd, trying to stay standing. The soldiers thought they had just sealed their victory. They thought wrong.

Firedrake looked over as his master and friend cried out in pain. The Monstrous Nightmare saw the blood quickly covering the Viking's clothes and turned into a creature truly worthy of its name. As fury took over, the dragon moved like lightning, swiftly placing himself between Snotlout and his foes. In doing so, his viciously thrashing tail leveled the thin line of survivors he had been facing. The dragon roared with such anger it brought the enemy soldiers to quake and stumble back in fear. Before they could run, however, the Nightmare launched a large ball of fire at the armored troop. He then leapt into the resulting explosion, using the hole as a starting ground while he slashed, tore, chomped, and pounded anything in reach.

Snotlout was amazed as he watched his dragon reduce the enemy to nothing in a fit of rage. He was about to start cheering him on when an arrow embedded itself in the stone ground next to him. The Viking turned and looked up at the undamaged wall to see it lined with archers, the deadly tools of their trade pulled back and ready to fire. However, before they could launch, a cloud of green gas spread along the wall, and was instantly set alight. Tuffnut and Ruffnut cheered as they soared over their friends.

The Magus army's numbers were starting to thin. Fishlegs soon found himself picking off those that were trying to retreat, so they couldn't alert the army at the other village. He and Boulderhead flew back and forth over the main battle. The primary spot in which the action was taking place had moved up a few streets, leaving the ground littered with the dead and wounded. While he hated the sight, Fishlegs took comfort in noticing that most of the bodies wore black armor.

As the duo soared once more over the main battle to reload, Fishlegs watched in amazement as Ivan led the charge. The large Viking wasn't even bothering with his sword on his belt. In each hand he held a large wooden club that he wielded like drumsticks as he beat his way through the black army, apparently enjoying himself.

Suddenly, the enemy broke ranks and ran pel-mel through the town towards the forest, their opponents close on their heels. However, the retreat was stopped cold as the dragon riders united in front of the retreating army and filled the street with fire. All those that survived promptly dropped their weapons and surrendered.

Hiccup and Toothless flew up alongside Astrid and Prince, who were attempting to open a cell door. The other dragons that had been freed were also moving from door to another, freeing their companions. Arrows rained down into the pit from the edge above.

"We need to hurry up, Astrid." Hiccup stated urgently.

Astrid turned her head to scold his impatience but changed her mind when she saw the blood on his sleeve. "Hiccup! Your arm!"

"It's nothing," he responded, "we have to hurry before they decide to alert the others!"

Astrid opened the door and a Deadly Nadder soared out of the hole. It looked up and squawked, drawing the humans' attention to the surface, where flames and smoke now shot over the lip of the massive dragon prison. Astrid and Hiccup both flew upward, nearly colliding with Snotlout and Firedrake as they flew out of the pillar of smoke. When the smoke vanished, it revealed the remaining soldiers surrendering to a mass of Vikings and Magus villagers. Together, the group headed for the Viking village.

Stoic continued to trudge forward with the piece of stone in his hands, his mind blank. He didn't even register the insults his captors flung at him as they recognized his face. He had long since gotten used to their mockery. He was once strong and brave, now he was skin and bones. His long, white beard nearly touched the ground. The Viking chief wanted more than anything to cry, but had already cried all that he could. He was broken, as was everyone else; wanting so much to die, but for some reason couldn't.

Suddenly, something caught the attention of not only Stoic, but the guards and all the other Vikings as well. A Magus soldier, clad in his unmistakable black armor, burst from the tree line and ran down the street toward the sea. Smoke drifted behind him from an odd, glowing spot on his rear. The man completely ignored all of the water sources he passed until he jumped into the freezing ocean.

The guards were murmuring amongst themselves and looking into the trees when a cacophony of howling and growling quickly grew from that direction. Almost immediately, the sky was filled scaly reptilian creatures as they soared over the village. Fire rained down on the panicking soldiers as other Vikings and Magus villagers emerged from the trees and charged at the guards.

Stoic just stood in amazement watching the scene unfold until a black dragon landed next to him. The Viking wondered if he had finally died as he looked up into his son's face. No one spoke until Astrid landed next to Hiccup on Prince.

"D-dad," Hiccup choked out. The sight of his father in this state was painful. However, they had a job to do. The younger Viking cleared his throat, "I need you to tell me where they put that crystal."

Stoic muttered something like, "Hiccup," and then pointed to the large meeting house at the top of the village. Hiccup turned and nodded to Astrid, who then took off in the direction of the building.

"I'll be right back, Dad," Hiccup told his father before taking off after his wife.

The two landed in front of the open door to the house. Inside, on a large table in the center of the room, a violet crystal floated above the table. Hiccup and Astrid both felt weak just standing outside the house. Toothless shifted so he was directly in front of the door. The Nightfury let loose a single blast of fire that slammed into the crystal. They could hear it cracking, but before Hiccup and Toothless could move it exploded with such force that it knocked Toothless back and threw Hiccup from his seat.

Astrid immediately leapt from Prince's back and ran to his side. The young Viking sat up, dazed, but otherwise alright. Astrid knelt next to him and brought him into his arms. That was when she looked back at the village. Her faced turned to one of shock and awe.

"Hiccup, look."

He turned around and was as pleasantly shocked as she was. All of the Vikings that had been so terribly thin a few moments ago were now back to the same condition they were in before the crystal had come. Within moments, all the fighting ceased as the Magus army realized that it was suddenly outnumbered.

"Come on!" Astrid said as she grabbed Hiccup by the hand and practically dragged him down the hill, Toothless and Prince close on their heels.

"Dad!" Hiccup yelled as they caught sight of the Berk chieftain, back to being the strong man he had been.

Stoic beamed at his son, "Hiccup my boy! I couldn't believe it at first. How are you-?"

"Don't worry Dad," Hiccup interrupted him, "I'll tell you everything."

Aries marched swiftly from the throne room, meeting Zak'tar in the hallway. "The time has come, assemble the Dragon Knights."

"May I ask why your Majesty?"

"The Vikings have managed to take back their island. We are going to kill them. Finally, this ends now."

"Yes, your Majesty."

As Zak'tar walked away, Aries continued on his path, a sinister smile on his face.

**Well, I'm back. Even if it is only to finish this story. I apologize for not finishing earlier, I lost this chapter before and pretty much gave up on continuing. Anyways, I hope to update soon!**

**Dark Guymelef**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The Final Battle

The village of Berk was lively and happy for the first time since before the invasion. The inhabitants and visitors of the island celebrated well into the night, definitely not planning on going to sleep. Several huge bonfires could be found throughout the village as Viking and Magus alike feasted, danced, and sang. The dragons, know elated to be reunited with their masters, watched protectively over the festivities.

In one particular corner, sitting far away enough to still enjoy some of the light and heat of a nearby bonfire, four friends were grouped together on a pile of crates. Their three dragons slept peacefully nearby, exhausted from their efforts earlier that day.

"OW!" Snotlout winced as Tuffnut teasingly poked the slightly reddened bandage on his side. This earned him a swift fist in the face.

A gentle hand slid down the Viking's arm, drawing his attention away from the thinner man's cries of "I'm hurt! Oh I'm very much hurt!" Snotlout was surprised and slightly confused to see Ruffnut giving him a rather strange look.

"That was very brave of you, what you did today," she whispered.

"Y-you think so? I mean of course it was!" Snotlout quickly covered his nervousness with his brave and heroic façade. "Did you see the way I fended off those rotten bad guys?"

Tuffnut scoffed from his place on the ground, earning him a kick to the shin by his sister. Immediately his cries returned as he rolled back and forth across the ground. Fishlegs began to bust out laughing, the excited elation mixed with the day's events infected him and made the scene before him all the more hilarious.

However, not all were merrily celebrating their victory. In the meeting house at the top of the village, Toothless and Prince stood guard on either side of the door. Chris's gold dragon slept on the grass a short ways away. Inside, gathered around the wooden table, Hiccup, Astrid, Stoic, Gobber, and Ivan listened to Chris explain his plan for the coming battle.

"Listen," Chris began, "Aries undoubtedly knows what has happened here. It will not be long before he arrives with his own army."

"How long do we have?" Stoic asked.

"I'm not sure, at most seven days." Chris responded. He then leaned forward, his arms out against the table for support, his face deadly serious. "You all must understand Aries will be coming with his most elite troops: the Dragon Knights. Trust me; they are not like the other soldiers you have faced in the past. These guys and their Wyverns are highly trained killers; they will be coming to kill all of us."

"So what should we do to defend ourselves?" Hiccup asked.

Chris laid a hastily drawn map on the table, "First off, we need water stations throughout the village. They need to be spread out enough to easily reach any part of the village quickly in case of fire. Next we have to find a safe place for those that can't fight. I was thinking of a cave or something like that. Then, we will need towers, preferably stone towers to place archers in. I was also thinking of building some small pits surrounded by stone for those on the ground to take cover in. Some catapults would also be nice but are not a high priority, they most likely won't last long.

"Another thing is that Aries won't just bring his Knights. He will definitely have ground troops as well, at least two or three ships. So we must protect the beaches and docks from their landing. We could put up large nets around the cliffs and fill them with rocks and logs. That way, when they try to land, we can drop those on them. We will also need a group to guard the Magus village in case they try to land there."

Stoic sighed as Gobber gave a low whistle. "That's a lot to do in seven days or less." Stoic pointed out.

"I know," Chris replied, "the Magus have already volunteered to help, even with supplies. I have also noticed a lot of wood and rock from the village's construction lying around and ready to go. We'll just do what we can and hope for the best."

Hiccup, Astrid, and their friends were set up with the Magus and Viking leaders in the large meeting house. There they slept on the floor, on top of a thin blanket and under a thicker wooly one. However, this was not the primary problem that they encountered with sleeping. That many Vikings asleep in one room caused as much noise as it had in the day.

So, when Fishlegs gave out an unusually loud snore, Hiccup woke with a start to find that Astrid was not beside him. As carefully and quietly as he could, the young Viking stood and maneuvered his way through the maze of wooly mounds. He found her standing outside looking out over the village towards the ocean.

At first, Hiccup said nothing. His voice died in his throat as he watched her. The moonlight seemed to hit her just right, giving the blonde a radiant glow. The speechless Viking shifted his weight slightly, causing the wood beneath him to creak. Astrid turned and smiled at him. Realizing he'd been caught, Hiccup joined her and mentally kicked himself for ruining that moment.

"Hey," Hiccup began, "can't sleep?"

Astrid rolled her eyes at him, "I'm surprised you slept so well."

Hiccup took a second to listen to the slumbering chorus inside, "Yeah, me too."

The two stood in silence for a moment. Astrid returned to looking out to the sea, deep in thought. She leaned into Hiccup as she felt his arms wrap around her waist.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked.

"I was thinking about what life will be like when this is over. I don't if I should be excited or worried about the battle."

"Well, how about you concentrate on the future and be excited for now," Hiccup whispered. Astrid was silent for a minute before she realized something.

"You know what Hiccup?"

"What?"

"I just remembered that there is something that I haven't done since I got you back."

"What is that?"

Without warning, Astrid spun around and punched her husband in the arm. The young man winced and rubbed his arm as he gave her a very confused look. He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off.

"That is for dying on me," she then grabbed Hiccup's shirt and pulled his lips to hers, like the first time they kissed. When they pulled away, she whispered, "And that's for everything else."

Hiccup smiled and brought his arms around her waist again while he leaned into her. As their lips touched, the two forgot about the world around them. They forgot about the trials and stresses of the coming days and about the evil bent on destroying them, and they most certainly didn't notice the two dragons that rolled their eyes at the scene before returning to their slumber with smiles on their faces.

The next few days flew by all too fast for the Vikings and their allies. With each passing day, the coming struggle weighed more heavily on their minds. The villagers woke with the sun each morning, and worked all day to construct the defenses Chris had suggested. In the meantime, Astrid gave ground combat training lessons while Hiccup trained dragons and their riders on fighting in the sky. The two didn't see each other until dinner, when all work and training ceased. At that point, they became inseparable. They would go on walks or night flights around the island, sometimes with their friends as well.

On the fifth night, Hiccup and Astrid were on such a stroll. Having just left dinner at the tavern, the two were laughing about the way Ruffnut flirted with Snotlout and how he seemed to not know what to do about it. As they set off into the cool night, Astrid addressed something that had been on her mind over the past four days.

"Hiccup?"

"Yeah?" Hiccup turned his smiling face to her.

"I want you to promise me something," she said.

Hiccup stopped and turned to her, "Anything." He replied.

"I want you to promise me that when we go into battle, that you won't do anything stupid."

Hiccup smiled and wrapped his arms around her. "I promise, I will _never_ leave you again," he whispered.

The two continued their walk hand in hand. They talked about happy and upbeat subjects, like how Gobber's Terrible Terror had run off with his fake tooth earlier. It took the old Viking most of the day to catch it. He found it on one of the towers being constructed. It was trying to pull the tooth out of the now dried cement, which meant Gobber had to find a new tooth.

As they turned a corner, the young couple spotted Chris. He was leaning on a railing, staring out toward the horizon. He was obviously deep in thought. The knight didn't hear them approach, and didn't acknowledge their presence until Hiccup spoke.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Chris looked back, startled, "What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Oh, I don't know," Astrid replied sarcastically, "it couldn't possibly be the look on your face now, could it?"

Chris smiled slightly and nodded as he turned back to the water, "He's close."

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked, fearing he already knew the answer.

"Aries is almost here, I can feel it. He will be here in the morning."

"WHAT!" Astrid yelled, a mixture of emotions firing through her, "You said that we would have seven days!"

"No," he retorted, "I said at most we would have seven days. Apparently Aries is very eager to kill us."

"We have to warn the others," Hiccup said. Together, the three ran back to the village.

Morning found the Vikings and their allies ready for battle. As the sun first began to peek over the horizon, Hiccup and the other dragon riders were already mounted on their reptilian friends, assembled on just about every surface imaginable. Hiccup sat on Toothless at the front of the group. Astrid and Prince were on his right, Chris and his dragon on the left. Stoic was leading the ground forces protecting the village while Ivan led those assigned to protect the Magus village.

The sun continued to rise, lighting up the sea and sky before the island. Suddenly, as the light rose, it shone upon what looked like a small black cloud in the distance. However, as the cloud grew, the Vikings could make out hundreds of individual specs. Within a few moments, they could clearly see which was Aries' dragon, the largest of the specs.

Hiccup drew his sword from his scabbard. He looked to Astrid, who gave him a comforting smile. The future chief pointed the blade forward and, giving his best battle cry, led the flyers out over the sea.

Aries watched the dragons depart the island of Berk and smiled. Though their numbers were easily twice that of his own Knights, they lacked in both tactics and strategy. His men were far more skilled and experienced. Their wyverns were also filled with a controlled bloodlust, making them valuable allies and terrible enemies.

As the two clouds of airborne fighters drew nearer, Aries removed the banshee's whistle from his pocket. He held it to his mouth until he was sure the defenders of Berk were close enough. With an evil grin and a sinister chuckle, he blew into the bony instrument. When he finished, it disintegrated in his hand as his men took advantage of the chaos it wrought.

Hiccup heard a high and shrill screech reach his ears. He almost raised his hands to his ears when he noticed Toothless' head thrashing from side to side as they fell towards the water. It wasn't just Toothless either, all the dragons aside from Chris's seemed to have been dizzied or rendered confused by the sound. The dragons fell all over the place, breaking formation. Those closest to the water plunged beneath the surface, rider or not.

"Come on Toothless!" Hiccup begged the dragon as they fell toward the water. Finally, the Nightfury regained control just in time to pull out of their fall and skim the waves below. Hiccup was about to give a sigh of relief, when a large shadow emerged from the fog in front of him.

"Whoa!" the Viking shouted as he swiftly steered his dragon out of their collision course and around the object.

The fog cleared to reveal a massive ship. The vessel cut through the water like a hot knife through butter. Hiccup pulled Toothless toward the sky, and the two had to dodge a barrage of deadly shafts as the soldiers onboard the ship fired upon them. When they cleared the top of the ship's giant masts, the duo soared straight into the chaotic fray that had unfolded.

Prince recovered from the sound much faster than Toothless. Astrid watched in horror as her husband and his dragon fell. She was just steering her Deadly Nadder in their direction when the two were cut off by a ball of flame. Prince squawked indignantly as they made a sharp turn to avoid an incoming wyvern. The half-dragon banked around to come at them again, but was caught off guard when it ran face-first into a pack of needles. One of spikes missed the wyvern but slammed into its rider's chest, throwing him from its back. Both plummeted to the ocean below.

Having lost sight of Hiccup, the young woman turned her attention to the battle raging around her. The Dragon Knights attacked them just as the dragons were starting to recover from the whistle. The pinpoint accuracy of the wyverns caused massive damage. Many Vikings and dragons fell to the ocean below, where their bodies could only barely be seen by those in the battle above.

The three dimensional battlefield was absolute chaos. Astrid and Prince dodged three fireballs within the first few minutes. The last one singed the end of the blonde's hair. Finally picking a target, Astrid guided Prince into a hawk-like dive at a wyvern that was chasing a rider-less Gronckle. Prince stuck his legs out just in time to sink his talons into the larger creature's side. The creature roared in pain, and Prince had to duck his head out of the way as the Magus rider swung his sword. Astrid responded with a whack from her ax. She caught the knight across the head, sending him and his wounded mount into the sea.

Tuffnut and Ruffnut were among the few Zippleback riders skilled enough to participate in the air battle. Most of the Zipplebacks were on the island, prepared to defend against land forces. Both of them carried a large sack full of small javelins that they used to throw at wyverns that got too close to them.

However, the two Vikings were so busy squabbling over the length of Ruffnut's hair; it had blown into Tuffnut's face, that they were paying little attention to their surroundings. So, when Pisces caught sight of Snotlout and Firedrake being chased by two Dragon Knights, it decided to take matters into its own hands. The twins were pulled from their argument unexpectedly as the two-headed dragon pulled into a steady dive. They caught on to the dragon's intentions as they spotted Firedrake make a fancy barrel roll to avoid two balls of flame from his pursuers.

Snotlout was not having a good time. The still healing wound in his side was preventing him from fighting at maximum capacity. Add on top of that the constant twisting and diving he and Firedrake had to perform to avoid fire and other flying reptiles, and now Snotlout had quite the headache. So, when a fireball flew close enough to his head to burn one of the horns on his helmet, the young Viking began to shout in frustration.

"Really? First a wound, then a headache, and now you're trying to cook me?" he vented his anger and frustration as he turned to glare at whatever had hurled the flaming ball. His glare changed into one of shock as he found to wyverns closing in on him. "Alright Firedrake, go faster!" He urged his draconic friend as another ball of flame flew past his head, exploding in midair a ways away.

For some minutes they continued the chase. When the wyverns' fire started to become more accurate, Snotlout guided his Monstrous Nightmare into a series of tricks and maneuvers to avoid them. He didn't look behind them again until he felt a faint wave of heat and pressure on his back as well as an unusually large boom. The Viking turned to see his opponents being engulfed in a large cloud of smoke and flame. Their flaming bodies fell from the sky as a familiar Zippleback came to fly alongside him.

Fishlegs was having troubles of his own. He had joined a particular group of dragon riders that had taken upon themselves the task of sinking the giant Magus vessel sailing below the battle. This was proving to be very difficult, seeing as how the dragons were doing very little damage, and the storm of arrows being fired from the ship was furious. Most were shot from the sky after letting off one shot.

The sturdy Viking and his trusty Gronckle came in fast and low. Boulderhead fired all of his shots across the deck of the ship before Fishlegs tossed him another rock to reload. However, in doing so the two failed to see the pole of a mast that they flew straight into. The duo fell onto the wooden deck, causing it to creak and moan beneath them.

Fishlegs staggered unsteadily to his feet as he shook the daze of yet another crash from his mind. He and Boulderhead now found themselves in quite the predicament, as Magus soldiers closed in on them from all sides. The Viking just flipped his hammer from one hand to the other and said in his most macho voice, "Bring it on."

**This one took a little longer than expected. I've decided to split this battle up among three chapters. Next one might take a while depending on how much I include. Thanks for reading! Please review!**

**Dark Guymelef**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The High Tide

It was about an hour after the battle started that anything happened on the other side of the island. Of course, no one in Ivan's band knew that. All they knew was that approximately one hour after sunrise two very large, black shapes emerged from the fog. The Vikings and their Magus allies were astonished to find that the shapes were actually two massive ships.

Chris had predicted an attack through the Magus village, but this was certainly beyond their expectations. He had Ivan and his men lined up just inside the tree line of the forest above the village. They were all armed with bows and arrows, as well as an assortment of close combat weapons and a single catapult that was to be used to take out any ships that tried to land.

However, also as Chris predicted, that one catapult didn't last long. Just as the enemy's ships were coming within its range, a small detachment of Dragon Knights dove out of the clouds above. Their target was obviously the catapult, as it was quickly reduced to charcoal. Unfortunately for the Knights, the Vikings were prepared for this. Before the wyverns could turn from their bombing run and retreat back into the clouds, they were caught in a downpour of arrows. Their deadly wooden shafts embedded themselves everywhere. Wyvern and rider alike collapsed on the ground, like giant pin cushions littering the small clear space down the hill between the trees and the village. Only a few of the Magus Knights survived, returning to safety in the clouds.

Though they had been met with disastrous casualties, the Dragon Knights had done their jobs. The ships could no longer be sunk by the force opposing them, so Ivan and those under his command were forced to sit and wait as the vessels drew nearer. Finally, they docked at the small port, and the Magus army poured out of the ships in droves. It was like a sea of black descended upon the village, flowing this way and that and filling up the streets as it moved toward the hill.

Ivan waited for the first few ranks of soldiers to come spilling out of the village and up the hill. Then, with a wave of one of his giant drumsticks, the Vikings cut the taught ropes holding back three piles of huge logs. The timber rolled down the hill with ever-increasing speed. They watched as the armored tide seemed to hesitate before giving way to the logs. They weren't fast enough, however, and the wood cut huge swaths in the Magus army.

While it slowed them down, the booby trap did not deter the army from its determined charge. Soldiers were still pouring from the village when the front line made it halfway up the hill. Seeing his forces vastly outnumbered, Ivan decided to switch to plan B and retreat.

"Fall back!" He cried, "Fall back into the forest!"

Fishlegs coughed as smoke filled his lungs. The Magus vessel was now a floating ball of fire from which a massive pillar of smoke had formed. No one outside of the ship could see what was happening on the deck, and Fishlegs certainly could not see beyond the black curtain that flowed around him. It was like he had been trapped in a completely different world, where smoke replaced the air and the only light came from the fire spread across the deck.

After they landed, Fishlegs was quickly surrounded while Boulderhead charged up and down the deck bulldozing anything in his path. However, as the fire spread and the smoke grew, the two became separated. Fishlegs now walked across the flaming deck, calling out for his draconic friend.

"Boulderhead! Boulderhead! Where are you? We need to go." Fishlegs shouted.

Suddenly, the Gronckle burst from the black cloud. The dragon landed briefly, just long enough for Fishlegs to jump on. The wood creaked and groaned beneath them as they lifted off. Fishlegs could see sections of it fall away onto the level below just before the wooden deck disappeared into the smoke.

Cool air whipped about the two as they emerged from the smoke. Fishlegs gave a sigh of relief which quickly turned into a surprised yelp as the pulled on his dragon. Boulderhead made a sharp turn and avoided ramming the cliff in front of them. Fishlegs stopped and watched the ship slam into the rocky face. Wood splintered as numerous black figures leapt from latches in the ship's sides.

The Vikings watching from the top of the cliff swiftly cut the ropes of a net holding back a group of large boulders above the vessel. The rocks plunged through the burning wood, sending splinters and pieces of armor flying everywhere.

Smoke from the now sinking ship gave cover to the surviving soldiers, shielding them from the archers above. However, that was not going to keep them safe. Their small numbers quickly dwindled as they faced traps such as falling logs, broken stairs, and packs of Terrible Terrors.

The young Viking turned and flew towards the battlefield above. He was quickly surrounded by flying, swirling draconic creatures, fire, and smoke. He and Boulderhead positioned themselves above enemy wyverns, and then dived on them. The result would either crush the rider or throw him into the sea, while wyvern's spine snapped, causing it to fall from the sky.

Fishlegs was looking about for another target, when he spotted a familiar Nadder and its rider through the chaos. A fireball flew past them, and Fishlegs tracked back to its creator. A particularly nasty soldier sat atop a particularly large, grey wyvern. The deadly duo had a determined bead on Astrid and Prince. Even the woman's best tricks only narrowly avoided the flaming missiles.

"Come on, Boulderhead," Fishlegs told the Gronckle, "let's go save Astrid." Together, they flew after the Haddock and her pursuer.

Ivan was feeling a little winded, but he and the others had to keep going. They were almost to the checkpoint, he could feel it. They had drawn the Magus army into the forest, where they faced hundreds of pitfalls that were specially marked to warn the defenders. However, the army's numbers were far too many to even be dented by these traps. However, the biggest trap waited at the checkpoint.

Suddenly, the forest became very dark. The Vikings and their allies continued to run through the thick cloud that now obscured what little light had made it through the trees. The Magus soldiers followed them blindly into the darkness. Then, a bright flash and a roar ripped through the air as the smoky cloud ignited, swallowing a good portion of the attackers in flames. The running allies used the mass confusion as an opportunity to turn on their enemy.

Ivan clobbered his way into the dark force as the fire roared around them. The Magus soldiers no found themselves fighting not only the Vikings and villagers, but most of the Zipplebacks as well. The two headed dragons mauled their opponents. Some also took to the sky to take on the remains of the Dragon Knights that were aiding the Magus ground forces.

One popular trick the dragons used was to weaver their necks quickly into the evil ranks, surrounding three or four soldiers. Then, they would swiftly pull their necks together as tightly as possible, taking down those that were trapped. Explosions rippled back and forth across the battlefield as the Vikings' dragons lit small clouds of gas among the enemy. Steel clashed with steel, slashed through cloth and flesh, and pierced scales. The sounds and cries of battle didn't faze the Magus army, but it seemed to help the Vikings. Blood pounded in their veins as the spirit of battle heightened their senses, making each one a formidable foe.

The fighting took its toll on Ivan's clubs. He decided to give up on them when he attempted to parry a blow, only to have his opponent's sword nearly go all the way through it. The sword was stuck, however, so Ivan yanked it from his hands, tossed the club away, and slammed his hard head into the Magus warrior's helmet. The man's head snapped back, and he fell to the ground. The next soldier to approach the pirate Viking was skewered on the end of his sword.

Ivan looked around him. Despite the explosion and reinforcements, the Magus still had numbers on their side. As quick as he could, he rallied his forces together. They piled onto the surviving Zipplebacks and soared above the trees, heading for the Viking village.

Zak'tar went from almost frying the annoying blonde that had so naïvely thrown an ax at him, to dodging fireballs as four of her friends and their dragons showed up behind them. He was forced to give up his chase on the young woman as the fireballs from his pursuers came dangerously closer to him. As he pulled away, Snotlout and Firedrake hung back to talk to Astrid while the others continued the chase.

"Don't worry; we'll take care of him." Snotlout told his friend, "You go find Hiccup." Astrid nodded and the two parted ways.

Zak'tar proved himself to be formidable. His wyvern was the eldest and strongest of its brothers and sisters. The two flew with decades of experience. Even the Vikings' best shots missed him. He dodged and turned as if he read their minds and knew where the attack was coming from. Add on top of this his speed and the fact that Firedrake and Boulderhead had to reload and relocate them, and he seemed downright impossible to take down.

Once, both the Monstrous Nightmare and the Gronckle had to leave at the same time. Zak'tar looked behind him to see that only Pisces and the twins were following him, and turned into the busier part of the battlefield. Tuffnut and Ruffnut attempted to follow, but they lost him. Suddenly, two very well aimed balls of fire narrowly missed both heads. The two Vikings looked to see the grey wyvern closing in on Pisces' tale. They made a sharp turn, throwing off the Magus Knight and his steed temporarily. Soon the fireballs resumed, each only barely missing its target before exploding a short ways away. One passed by so close that it lit one of the horns of Tuffnut's helmet on fire. The Viking practically screamed as he tried to put the flame out.

That's when Snotlout and Fishlegs struck. The Gronckle attacked from above, while the Nightmare attacked from below. Their flames crisscrossed, clipping the wyvern's wing and burning the creature roared in pain and turned, choosing to chase Snotlout and Firedrake. The wounded beast fired more rapid, less accurate shots now, but it made Snotlout increasingly uncomfortable. The fire balls flew rapidly past him, each time it came close to his side he'd grind his teeth as he fought a sudden pain.

Pisces dove at the Magus and his wyvern, bringing its masters close enough to chuck some spears at them. One hit the creature's wing; the other pierced its side. It turned its attention from its previous targets to the latest attackers. One of the Hideous Zippleback's wings was hit, the dragon shrieked in pain as the fireball burned through it. Feeling their dragon start to struggle, Tuffnut and Ruffnut guided it towards the ground over which they now fought. This gave Snotlout and Fishlegs the opportunity to strike. Boulderhead swooped in upside down, allowing Fishlegs to slam his hammer against Zak'tar's head. The Magus Knight went limp, and fell from his wyvern to the ground below. Firedrake then landed on the wyvern's back, letting loose a stream of flames on its head. The half-dragon screamed in pain, but when Firedrake released it and flew away, the grey beast fell to the ground, crushing its master's body beneath it.

A fireball slammed into the ground just on the other side of the stone wall protecting Stoic and the others in his pit. The resulting explosion threw the Viking on his back, but the stones took the brunt of the blow, shielding Stoic from any serious harm. The chief got back to his feet and watched the sky above. Dragons and wyverns weaved back and forth over the village. Any wyverns that attempted to attack the ground found themselves pelted by hundreds of arrows. However, the trained Knights still held the advantage, and made the ground forces pay for their stubborn defense.

It was then that Stoic saw the Zipplebacks fly over the tree line. They landed, and Ivan and his troops dismounted Stoic ran to the pirate to ascertain the situation from him.

"We were overrun," Ivan explained, "they aren't far behind us, we have to form a line now!"

The Vikings quickly tried to form a battle line amidst attacks from the sky. No sooner had they formed up than the enemy burst from the trees, charging at them. The two sides met with a tremendous crash. The sounds of battle peaked as the fighting accumulated entirely on the ground and directly above the village of Berk.

Stoic soon found himself fighting in the streets of his village. Chaos and fire filled the air around him as the ground and air battles melded together. Dragons and wyverns would either take shots at the ground from the sky, or even land and join the melee themselves. The battle raged throughout the village, its intensity unlike anything the Viking had ever seen before.

One poor soul attempted to slash Stoic with an ax, but the Viking dodged it easily and crushed the side of the man's head with his hammer. The building behind him exploded as a ball of flame slammed into it. The Viking chief rolled away, picking up a stray rock and chucking it with all of his might at something black he saw out of the corner of his eye. The rock missed the soldier, who stopped to laugh at Stoic before another rock smacked him in the back of the head.

Stoic looked beyond the soldier to see Gobber waving at him, grinning goofily. Stoic's old friend turned and ran towards the village square, an amusing sight to see since he seemed to do a sort of jig while he ran. Stoic laughed at the peculiar situation, adrenaline and excitement filling his veins as he thought of the significance of this fight. Picking up his hammer, he followed the blacksmith to the heart of the combat.

By the time Astrid found Hiccup, he had had a rough time. He and Toothless spent most of the battle searching for Aries and his massive black dragon. However, each of the three times they saw him it was because he found them. He would fly by, his dragon using its claws to swat them out of the air. The first two times, they were knocked out of flight long enough for Aries and the giant dragon to disappear.

The third time was different. Hiccup and his Night Fury were pulling out of a dive when a sudden black mass flew in front of them. One of the dragon's hind legs kicked Toothless in the head, rendering him unconscious. The two plummeted toward the water below, missing the grassy top of a cliff by inches.

"Come on Toothless, wake up." Hiccup begged his dragon as the water drew ever nearer, "Come on bud! Wake up!"

They plunged into the cold water, which served to wake the black dragon. Hiccup barely had enough time to gather his senses and latch onto Toothless before they shot back out of the water. They were surveying the battle in the sky above when Astrid and Prince joined them.

"Hiccup, are you ok?" Astrid queried worriedly.

"We're fine Astrid," Hiccup replied, silently relieved to see her safe.

"But, your arm!"

He looked down to see the gash he had incurred during Berk's liberation reopened. The impact against the water must have burst all of the stitches.

"It's nothing," Hiccup reassured her, "I can't even feel it. Have you seen Aries? He keeps surprising us. That's why we took a dip."

"No, I haven't," she answered, smiling at his attempt for humor, "Let's go look for him together." The two squoze their hands briefly before returning to the battle above.

The Haddocks were not a pair to be trifled with. The skill of the riders and their dragons far out matched the Dragon Knights. Wyverns and their black armor-clad masters fell from the sky before them like flies before a fly swatter. If anyone attempted to attack on Viking and their dragon, they would be quickly felled by the other two.

Finally, Astrid shouted for Hiccup's attention. The young man turned to see her point and followed her finger. There was no mistaking Aries and his dragon as they flew expertly through the swirling mass of bodies, smoke, and flame. Any dragons and their Vikings that dared come near the Magus Emperor didn't last long. The two pulled into dives to come up behind him.

The familiar whistling sound of air as it rushed past Toothless filled Hiccup's ears. They closed quickly on Aries and his dragon letting loose a powerful blue ball of fire just before diving beneath their target. The fireball missed, however, and exploded in midair. Aries' large dragon spread its wings and banked around in front of the young Viking and the Night Fury.

"Hahaha!" Aries laughed, "With all that noise you'll never be able to hit me Hiccup! I can hear you coming from miles away!"

Astrid, not about to let her husband be mocked, came in silently behind the evil dragon. Prince pumped out a streak of flame, which ran along the monster's tail. It roared in pain and anger and Astrid found herself looking into Aries' sinister red eyes as he glared at her. The woman and her Nadder made a quick turn away from Hiccup, the villain close behind them.

Astrid had a head start, but Aries' dragon was much faster. It closed quickly on them and suddenly pulled alongside them. Astrid looked over and found to her horror that Aries had his hand stretched out toward her, palm up. An all too familiar ball of fire was consolidating in it. Fortunately for the Viking and her dragon, her husband saw it too. Hiccup and Toothless were a little bit above and behind Aries and his large dragon. Swiftly, they dove at him, firing another missile. This one exploded just short of its target, but it startled Aries.

A long tongue of fire came dangerously close to Hiccup and his friend as the emperor resumed his chase. Hiccup looked behind him to see the large, toothy maw of the evil dragon ready to shut on Toothless' tail. Just before it could, however, something crashed into it, knocking the dragon and rider away. Toothless turned so Hiccup could get a better look.

He saw black and gold swirl together as Chris's dragon engaged Aries' in close combat. The two bit and clawed at each other, leaving deep, nasty wounds. Aries gained the upper hand and threw the gold dragon against the edge of a cliff. Chris was thrown from his mount and rolled across the grassy top. His dragon tried to dig its claws into the dirt to prevent it from falling, but it was nailed by its opponent. As they soared upwards, Aries reached out with his sword and slashed along the gold dragon's neck. The dragon let out a cry of pain and anguish, and fell to the sea below.

Aries brought his dragon to land on the grass, cutting Chris off from the rest of the island. He dismounted the dragon and left it to take care of anyone who wanted to interfere. He strode across the grass, the wind whipping his cape. The Magus Emperor stopped short of the silver knight and drew his sword, motioning for Chris to do the same.

"Now, Chris," Aries cold voice spoke, "let us finish this the honorable way. A duel, no magic and no dragons, just our skill and strength."

"Fine," Chris spat. He drew his sword and glowered at his opponent, "I will make you pay for what you have done."

Aries smiled, "Let's see about that."

Their swords clashed in a shower of sparks. The two began an intense and deadly dance back and forth across the grass. Their swords moved so quickly it was like they were a part of their owners' bodies. The blades glinted in the sun as they flashed back and forth. The sound of steel against steel in this duel alone seemed enough to fill a large battle.

Chris parried another blow, quickly swinging his sword forward only to be stopped by Aries' own strike. The knight took a step back and his sinister opponent took a step forward. Aries lunged forward with a powerful stroke, throwing Chris off balance. The evil emperor swiftly swung back up, his blade cutting across his enemy's bicep. Chris grunted in pain and stumbled backwards. He looked down to see dark red blood running down his silver armor. He glared back at Aries and shouted savagely as he ran forward, sword raised. The blades met again, but this time they didn't pull away. They were locked together, shaking as their masters pushed against them.

Chris suddenly gave it a final umph, bringing Aries to stumble back. The knight quickly closed the space between them, punching his opponent in the gut and kneeing him in the face when he bent over. The ruler was sent sprawling on his back. Chris stepped forward and pointed the end of his blade at Aries' face.

"Give up Aries," he said, "even if I don't kill you here, your plan will never work out."

The ominous, crazed grin returned to Aries' face. He quickly rolled away as Chris's blade his the dirt. He kicked the knight in the back of the knees, causing him to fall to the ground. Both quickly got to their feet and began circling each other, careful to always keep their swords between them and their opponent.

"You are a fool!" Aries shouted excitedly, "You don't even know the half of my plan. It does not matter if I die today or if that Viking 'prince' dies, I will still win!"

Chris stopped and gave his enemy a confused look, "You're insane!"

Aries cackled, "Am I now?"

The two closed in quickly, resuming their furious struggle. Their blades once again flashing back and forth. It was clear to Chris that he was losing though, and he gave it his all in one last strike. It was blocked, and the exhausted man staggered back. His opponent leapt forward, spinning in the air. The black blade of the Magus sword glided across his neck. Aries finished his spin, plunging his blade into Chris's chest and out the other side. He heard the defeated knight gasp, and he tried to say something. Instead, blood trickled down the side of his mouth. Aries smiled and removed his sword, turning and walking back to his dragon as Chris fell to the ground.

Hiccup watched in horror. He was paralyzed as he looked at his friend's lifeless form on the ground. He didn't know how long he was there, frozen in place in the midst of a massive battle. It wasn't until he felt Astrid's hand on his shoulder and saw her sympathetic face that he managed to choke out one word.

"No."

Anger and raged began flow through the Viking. His adrenaline kicked into high gear, and when he pulled away from Astrid's shoulder, his eyes were filled with renewed determination and resolve. Astrid nodded, understanding, and they took off in search of the evil murderer.

**This chapter's done! Sorry it took so long, I had my wisdom teeth pulled and have been kind of out of it. I will update soon. Please review!**

**Darkguymelef**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"Extra Guts and Glory"

The village square was packed with fighters from both sides. Stoic moved to and fro, taking a random course around the square as he defeated one opponent after another. He ran forward, leveling one soldier with his hammer and punching another in the face with his fist. The latter of the two stood dazed at first before falling with a whimper.

Stoic quickly stopped himself as an armored man rolled across the ground in front of him, a Terror attached to his face. After they rolled away, Stoic continued swinging his way toward the center. An explosion erupted to his left, sending pieces of wood and armor flying everywhere. Once in the center, Stoic found Gobber and Ivan fighting back-to-back.

Things took a downhill turn from there. The Viking leaders and a few others soon found themselves trapped in a circle of enemy soldiers. They fought with all they had, sending many to meet the dirt beneath their feet. The Magus' numbers were too great, however, and they continued to press in, squeezing their prey tighter and tighter.

Suddenly, flames erupted around the square. The Vikings were surrounded by a ring of fire that engulfed the Magus troops. As the flames died down, they saw Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut fly overhead with a few other Vikings. They punched the air as they flew by, giving whooping cries of victory.

It was this spectacle that made Hiccup stop and look around. Despite that small victory, the Magus were winning. They charged in from everywhere; on the ground and in the sky it seemed as if there were two soldiers to every Viking.

The world seemed to change in front of Hiccup's very eyes as the dire reality of the situation sunk in. The sun disappeared as the clouds filled the sky. Even the cold temperature that the Vikings were so accustomed to seemed to become bitterer, biting into Hiccup's skin.

He watched as three Gronckles and their riders chased down two wyverns. The Magus Knights and their steeds fell from the sky, and the three Vikings shouted and congratulated each other. They vanished in a burning pillar of fire, and Hiccup's vision of them was blocked as Aries and his evil dragon flew down in front of them. Hiccup and Toothless were about to take off after him when Astrid flew alongside her husband.

"Hiccup!" He turned to look at the blonde Viking and her Deadly Nadder as they came to hover next to him, "Wait, let us go with you."

"No Astrid," Hiccup said sternly. Seeing her about to argue, he changed tactics, "Please, you need to let me go alone. I couldn't forgive myself if something happened to you." He pleaded. His voice reminded her of when he convinced her to fly with him on Toothless for the first time. It was probably this that convinced her to give in and agree.

"Fine." She said. She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him to her. Their lips met, and her want to trust him struggled with the fear welling up inside of her, making her reluctant to let him go. When she finally did release him, she gave him a stern look, "Don't do anything stupid."

"As you wish, my lady." Hiccup replied before turning to Toothless, "Alright Bud, let's go!" The two blasted off, racing to catch up with their target.

The two soared through the battle, dodging above, around, and over dragons, wyverns, and blasts of fire. Soon, they had a clear shot of the murderous emperor below them. They swooped down, Toothless opening fire on the evil duo. The fireball burst short of its target, but it was close enough to get Aries' attention. He looked behind him to see his foe closing in on them.

The larger black dragon turned suddenly, attempting to throw Hiccup and Toothless off their tail. The Viking and his Night Fury curled themselves in tightly as they speedily turned after their target. Toothless fired twice more, both exploded before reaching the other dragon's tail. The larger dragon turned up and away, leading them back into the heart of the battle.

The wind rushed through Hiccup's hair and pressed his clothes to his front as Toothless followed the enemy, determined not to lose it. Hiccup's controlled rage and determination was infectious, and it made the dragon's blood boil and his heart race. He was as determined to destroy their opponent as his friend.

The dueling quartet soared straight through the battle. When Aries realized he hadn't shaken the young warrior, he pulled his dragon into a dive toward the sea. Hiccup and Toothless followed suit, the eerie whistle of the wind as it rushed past Toothless confirmed that He was still being chased, and he knew that they would be faster flying like this. Aries turned out of the dive just as the smaller dragon fired again. The fireball collided with one of the masts of the sunken Magus ship that was sticking above the water. The wood splintered and exploded as the cause flew right by, gaining on their opponent.

The Magus ruler led them into the large rock formations that surrounded the island. The chase reached a dangerous speed that no one short of experts could possibly hope to reach. They flew in and out of the rocks as Hiccup and his dragon tried to get a clear shot. The rocks and their speed made this impossible.

Finally, Aries went through a hole in the rock jutting out from the island. Hiccup followed, but when he emerged, the evil man and his demonic dragon couldn't be seen. Hiccup had just enough time to get confused before the heavy beating of wings from behind them filled his ears. He and Toothless quickly pulled up, just in time to miss the blade-like teeth of the giant dragon. The monster roared and followed them inland, attempting to catch them in a long tongue of fire.

Though it didn't reach them, the young man and his friend felt the heat on their backs, and it spurred them forward at a greater pace. They flew low, close to the trees, following the natural rise of the mountain. Another flame allowed them to gauge the distance between them and their opponent.

Deciding there was enough space to do so, Hiccup had Toothless suddenly pull up and dive back down the slope upside-down. Both dragons fired at each other while their master's blades clanged together. Neither side was harmed, and Hiccup soon found Aries on their tail again, though lagging farther and farther behind as gravity and aerodynamics worked their magic.

Getting an idea, Hiccup took a rock from a pouch on the saddle and hurled behind him. He didn't hear it hit anything, but he did manage to catch the Magus Emperor's furious and frustrated shout behind them. Hiccup laughed to himself before ducking as close to Toothless as he dared, trying to gain speed.

They pulled out of the dive just above the water and swiftly increased the distance between them and the island while Hiccup looked back to see where Aries was. The Magus and his dragon were far behind them, allowing the Viking and Toothless to bank around and come at them head on. The quartet of combatants met just as Aries cleared the rocks, Toothless and Hiccup going below their opponents above. Once again they missed, but Aries' dragon came very close to closing its maw on the smaller dragon as it passed by.

Both sides turned, causing them to fly around each other in and ever growing circle, the riders facing inward and glaring at each other. Finally, a shift in the wind made Aries lose speed, and he and his dragon broke out of the circle. Hiccup and Toothless followed without missing a beat.

They flew at insane speeds over the water and toward the village. The water below was swiftly replaced by land as Aries tried yet again to lose the young Haddock in the thinning chaotic battle. Hiccup and Toothless stayed carefully behind them. They dived, turned, spun and looped as if they were in some sort of acrobatic competition.

Aries continued this for several minutes, never flying straight long enough for his opponent to have a chance to fire. Several times Hiccup could have sworn he caught glimpses of his friends or Astrid out of the corner of his eye. However, he knew they were fighting their part of the battle, and he had to focus on his. He thanked Thor that he didn't get airsick as the spinning seemed to prevent him from telling which way was up or down.

Finally, the Magus dragon turned suddenly away from the battle, taking a Monstrous Nightmare and its rider out of the sky as it did so. Hiccup and Toothless followed, closing in on them. When Aries saw the approaching duo, he tried to turn his dragon around to face them. The Viking and Night Fury were closer than he anticipated, and rammed the underside of the larger dragon.

"Alright Toothless, get him!" Hiccup yelled as the two dragons hurled through the air, biting and clawing at each other.

In the frenzied struggle, Hiccup heard the sound of cloth tearing and felt a sting in his wounded arm. He looked to that one of the enemy dragon's claws had grazed him, ripping his entire right sleeve. The piece of cloth dangled uselessly as a red scratch appeared to go all the way up his arm to the shoulder where the rip ended. It missed his other wound, and only made a small puncture on his forearm; the Viking got lucky.

Suddenly, the evil dragon grabbed Toothless by the tail and flung him away. Hiccup hung on for dear life as they tumbled. Toothless spread his wings and righted himself just in time for Aries' dragon to open fire on them. The two sped away, but it was too close. The cut sleeve waving behind Hiccup caught fire, and he had to cut it away before it burned his skin. The piece of cloth flitted through the air as it burned to ash.

The chase resumed, Hiccup and Toothless once again flying insanely fast to avoid their opponent's powerful flames. To make up for this, the dragon began to launch balls of fire at them instead. They flew back out over the sea, the water spraying high into the air as the flaming missiles collided with it. They flew toward one of the giant Viking statues that guarded the entrance to the island. Toothless suddenly turned around it; causing one fireball to explode against the statue's head, and making the larger dragon run into it. The monster clawed at the stone and roared before flying after them again.

It was then that Hiccup had an idea. He remembered how he fought the massive dragon two years before, and the train of thought carried him to an insane idea. It was extremely dangerous, but it would probably get results faster than chasing each other around until one got tired.

"Ok Toothless," Hiccup told his dragon as the island expanded rapidly before them, we need to lose them in the clouds just like we did to that really bid dragon before. Ready? Now!" The Night Fury made an almost ninety degree turn as he zipped toward the cloudy sky. The Magus Emperor and his steed followed them, not having even the slightest idea of what was about to happen.

They flew through the clouds for a few minutes before Hiccup and Toothless managed to lose their foe. It didn't take long to find them again, but this time the Viking and his friend were careful to stay hidden. They flew above the evil pair and turned suddenly, coming at them from the side. Hiccup drew his sword and placed the tip of the blade near Toothless' mouth. The dragon blew on it, and fire ran down the blade, stopping at the handle. As they drew nearer, Toothless fired at the head of the other dragon before flying at its back. The fireball was a clean miss, but it burst so close to the dragon's face that it stopped and hovered back for a few seconds.

A few seconds was all Hiccup needed. As Toothless flew by, Hiccup jumped onto the giant dragon's back. Aries looked back as his dragon continued its flight, and saw the young Viking advancing on him with the flaming sword. Not rising from his seat, he drew his own sword and turned a little further to give himself a better angle.

Hiccup's flaming blade crashed against Aries' black one. They drew back and flashed forward again, Hiccup's blow once again being blocked. The Viking struck again and again, each time his attack was blocked. He was shocked at his opponent's skill. Aries even managed to slash the harness the Viking wore, causing it to disappear in the clouds. However, the young man was too late in noticing what the sinister ruler was doing with his other hand. A dark gas consolidated itself in his other hand, creating a sort of ornate, smoking dart that hovered above his palm. The dart launched forward, ramming into Hiccup's exposed shoulder. The object disintegrated on impact, but the small black cloud that created looked as if it was sucked into Hiccup's skin at the point of impact. The Viking stumbled backwards, severe pain exploding from his shoulder.

Aries smiled and sheathed his sword. He then grabbed the reigns and pulled up. Hiccup was suddenly thrown from his feet as the dragon soared upwards. His wounded arm grabbed one of the spikes on the dragon's back, and he hung on for all he was worth. The pain in his arm grew, and the Haddock looked at his shoulder to see something painfully strange. There was a small black dot where the dart hit him, and from there blackness seemed to be filling his blood veins. It spread rapidly and painfully, turning the skin around it slightly green. Suddenly, and for why Hiccup didn't know, it stopped spreading and the pain dulled slightly.

The evil emperor looked behind him and saw the stubborn Viking still alive. He pulled on the reigns again, turning the dragon sharply. Out of sheer desperation to hang on, Hiccup took his flaming blade and dug it into the creature's tail. The dragon roared in pain and fury while it tried vainly to dislodge the weapon.

They burst out of the clouds, and suddenly began to fly straight again. Hiccup looked up to see Aries say something to his dragon before climbing out of his seat, sword drawn. The Viking scrambled to his feet, yanking the sword out of the scaled appendage. Its owner grunted in pain, but kept its carefully straight path.

"I have to hand it to you, boy," Aries said as he readied his sword in front of him and entered a fighting stance, "You are stubborn and bull-headed. You have some skill and guts, but you will need a lot more than that to stop me."

"Let's see about that," Hiccup daringly mocked the dictator.

The Magus' face contorted in rage and he roared as he ran at the Viking. Steel clashed against steel, and Hiccup was quickly locked in a deadly duel high above the freezing water. Their swords moved swiftly and dangerously as they fought desperately against their opponent. Neither could afford to give up even a millimeter of space, for they both knew that one wrong step could spell the end.

The stronger man was definitely Aries. His powerful and skilled blows began to make Hiccup instinctively and involuntarily back up. The Viking nearly jumped out of his skin when his back hit the largest of the spikes on the black dragon. Pinned against it, Hiccup's struggle became all the more desperate. His sword flashed as quickly as he could swing it, but not only did he struggle to block his enemy's moves, but Aries was able to predict every attack made by the younger man.

Finally, Aries knocked Hiccup's sword down and away from his own, leaving Hiccup completely open to attack. The man laughed evilly as he took a greedy swing at Hiccup's head. Instinct, reflex, and training forced Hiccup to act against his better judgment, and he squatted down quickly and rather unsteadily. Aries' sword slashed the spike where Hiccup's head was, causing his dragon to roar in pain and twitch slightly. It was enough to make his master stumble a bit, and it gave Hiccup his chance.

The Viking shot back up, his burning sword piercing straight into Aries' chest. The Magus ruler stumbled back and fell to his knees, his face filled with shock. As he saw Hiccup standing there, bruised, bloodied, and winded, the dying man's face turned into a glare. Hiccup turned and looked like he was about to jump when Aries' pushed out his last words.

"This… isn't… over," he muttered darkly, blood running from his mouth.

Hiccup turned away from him and prepared to jump. Before his feet had even left the dragon's scaly back, Aries used all of his remaining strength to make one last swing. Hiccup cried in pain as his planned graceful dive turned into a deadly fall.

It was almost as if Astrid could hear the sound of steel tearing through flesh and bone. Fear rose to nauseating intensity as she turned and looked straight at the large black dragon; even though she hadn't been aware of its exact location. It was high above her, but close to the island. She watched as Hiccup fell from the creature's back, his helmet falling off his head where it had stayed so stubbornly up until now. She heard a familiar screech as Toothless, with Stoic in the saddle, appeared from the clouds close by. He blasted the wounded dragon at a gash near the base of its neck. The monster let out one last, dying roar and fell from the sky, its master going down with it.

Astrid watched worriedly as Toothless and the older Viking snatched Hiccup from the air and turned immediately toward land. She couldn't see him very well, but her husband looked pretty limp. She looked back to where he had been falling just in time to see his helmet hit the water. The young woman guided her dragon towards it. It took a minute, but she found it. Prince glided down and hovered close enough to the surface for Astrid to reach down and grab it. As she pulled it out of the water, the Viking saw something else float to the surface next to them.

Astrid almost dropped the helmet again as fear overcame her and panic settled in. She wanted to scream, but her voice was gone. She feverishly hurried Prince away from the water and towards the village, where an exhausted, relieved, and sad peace had settled in the air.

The blonde landed at the edge of the village and she leapt from the Nadder's back. She sprinted into the village, not hearing anyone that called out to her as she headed to the remains of the great hall, which had been converted into a hospital. Stoic was out front, waiting for her. She stopped and stared at his sad face. She let him guide her inside while she told herself that what she feared wasn't true.

The great hall was sectioned off into two main areas. On the left, those with minor wounds sat together. A part of the roof had caved in on this side, and provided many with a more comfortable, wooden seat. The other side was sectioned off further by hanging pieces of cloth. The more seriously injured were being cared for here. Stoic led her to one of the back sections, then opened the cloth and followed her in.

Gobber, Ivan, and all of their friends were sitting or standing around the edge of the surprisingly large room. Immediately to her left, a Magus villager, an expert doctor, sat in a chair. A desk on which he placed his tools sat between him and the building's wall. In front of him was a bed, on which Hiccup lay. On the other side of the bed Toothless' head hovered nervously over his friend.

All of Astrid's attention, however, was on Hiccup. He lay unconscious on the bed. His head had two small bandages on it, while his right arm and shoulder were completely wrapped up. Then her gaze moved down to his legs, and she thought her heart stopped. The right leg was fine, but the other was on top of a bloody towel, and it stopped at the knee. The doctor reached over and finished bandaging the stump before Astrid's voice returned.

"H-how is he?" She actually sounded scared.

The doctor looked up and gave her a smile, "He'll be fine, he's just resting right now. Don't worry."

Relief flooded Astrid so much that she thought she might faint. She muttered something about getting some air and walked out of the building. As she stood outside, she really began to notice things for the first time. The street in front of the great hall was also full of the wounded, but no one looked sad. In fact, they all chatted together happily. The village was in ruins and many had died, but all the people were too relieved and glad to be victorious to let that stop them from being happy. What she thought was somber sadness was really exhaustion from the long months of fighting and hardship.

She felt a large hand come to rest on her shoulder and she looked up at Stoic. Hiccup's father wasn't sad at all, in fact, he looked excited. He smiled down at her before speaking.

"He's awake and asking for you." He said gently.

The excitement welled up in Astrid too, and she had to resist running to Hiccup's side. As she entered the room, the doctor took his leave. Their friends followed him out, Ruffnut pulling on Snotlout's hand as she left. The woman turned to her female friend and winked at her before yanking the blushing macho Viking out.

Astrid sat down in the chair next to Hiccup's bed. He turned and looked at her as she grabbed his hand. At first they just stared at each other, both enormously glad and immensely relieved to see the other alive. Astrid felt her eyes well up with tears as she smiled at him.

"Hey," he whispered softly.

"Hey," Astrid wiped her eyes as she chuckled.

"How are you?" Hiccup queried.

"Oh, well, you know," Astrid was about to launch into a big long explanation, but she stopped and thought better of it, "I'm fine, just glad you aren't dead. How are you?"

"Oh, I just feel like I've been shot at, stabbed, slashed, burned, beaten, and still won," Hiccup said with an air of pride, obviously teasing Astrid for her explanation.

"Well, if it's going to be that way…" Astrid teased back. They both laughed and Toothless purred as rested his head on the bed. Hiccup scratched the top of it slowly, his eyes now turned to the stub.

"It was nice while it lasted," he said solemnly.

"Yeah," Astrid agreed as she looked at it too, then she continued, "but I think you look better with the fake one anyway."

"You do?" Hiccup asked.

"Definitely," she replied, "it makes you look tougher and more Viking…y."

Hiccup laughed, "Thanks."

They sat in silence again, just enjoying each other's company. No one moved or said anything until Hiccup yawned.

"Well," Astrid began as she leaned over him, "I'll let you get some rest. You need to get better quick, I don't know how long you dad will be able to postpone the celebration." She smiled before giving him a quick kiss. Then she got up, and beckoned Toothless to follow her out of the room.

The moon shone happily on a village filled with laughter and happiness. A gigantic bonfire was burning in the village square, around which danced dozens of Vikings and Magus villagers, who had decided to become Vikings themselves. The village was alive with excited chatter and celebration. Smaller bonfires had been erected throughout the village, around which more Vikings were gathered. Some danced, some sang, some flew, some watched, and others just wandered happily from fire to fire.

Stoic, Ivan, Gobber, Hiccup, Astrid, and their friends all took up a nice section of space with their dragons near the large bonfire. They talked together happily, exchanging stories of the battle three days previously and of the construction in the two days after that. Everyone offered Snotlout their condolences at the loss of his father, but the Viking was determined to be tough, especially for his new girlfriend. They had held a mass funeral the day before.

Everyone listened intently as Hiccup recanted his story of the final battle for the umpteenth time. He was up and walking with a new prosthetic leg, and had been telling the story ever since. It was like he couldn't go five feet without someone asking him about it. He would start to tell the story, and before he knew it, he was surrounded by eager listeners, some of whom had already heard the tale.

"Wow," Snotlout said, "that was crazy!"

"And stupid," Astrid scorned Hiccup teasingly. The young man pretended to look hurt.

They all laughed. Fishlegs started telling them about gathering a pack of Terrible Terrors earlier when Ruffnut rose from her seat, taking Snotlout by the hand.

"What?" He asked.

"C'mon, let's dance." Ruffnut said.

"Dance?" Snotlout was unsure, "Dancing isn't really my thing."

Tuffnut scoffed, "Yeah, and it definitely isn't hers either. She's the worst dancer I've ever—," he was cut off as his sister's mug hit him in the face. He fell off his box and rolled on the ground, "Oh I'm hurt! I am very much hurt!" They all laughed again while Snotlout reluctantly followed Ruffnut.

The friends and their dragons watched the two dance. The peaceful and happy reality of the situation sinking in. Astrid felt an arm snake around her waist and leaned her head on Hiccup's shoulder. The young Viking used his other hand to scratch the top of Toothless' head. He closed his eyes and relaxed happily. Finally, it was all over. Finally, there was peace on the island of Berk again.

**Finally, IT IS DONE! I want to thank all of you that have kept reading it and want to know what everyone thinks! I really enjoyed writing this. I have a request to make. I want all of my readers to tell me if they would like a sequel or not. I already have a pretty solid idea for one, and I would have to write it all within the next few months, so it wouldn't take as long as this one did. Anyways, let me know. Thanks again!**

**Darkguymelef**


	20. Epilogue

Epilogue

One Year Later

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Astrid's scream rang throughout the house.

A bunch of nervously excited women buzzed around her as her father placed her on a stretcher and picked up by one end while Stoic grabbed the other. Together, they rushed her from the house, Prince on their heels. The Deadly Nadder squawked and growled as it followed them down the hill toward the elder's house. The women screamed for others to get out of the way as they charged through the village.

Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs were passing by when the group of women practically flew past them. They couldn't tell who was on the stretcher between the female Vikings until Astrid let out another cry of pain, this one echoing off the buildings and floating through the entire village. Her friends rushed after her, trying not to get too close to Prince's madly waving tail.

The two men carrying the stretcher and the group of mothers rushed the moaning woman into the elder's house, slamming the door on Prince, who squawked angrily. The dragon was about to bust the door in when it reopened and Stoic walked out. He looked up from the door as he closed it and patted the Nadder reassuringly. He stopped when he noticed what looked like all of the Vikings in the village and most of their dragons in a semi-circle around him.

Silence fell between them for a moment before Snotlout asked, "What's going on?"

The Viking Chief seemed to come out of a sort of trance, "SOMEONE FIND HICCUP!" Stoic roared.

The group gathered before him scattered as they ran through the village, calling the young man's name. No one noticed as Prince, instead of staying dutifully by the door, took off into the sky. Tuffnut was the first to notice the dragon's absence, and he and the others followed the rapidly shrinking dot in the sky, beckoning for Prince to come back.

Wind whistled in Hiccup's ear as he reveled in this wondrous moment, unaware of something far more monumental occurring back home. The beat of Toothless' wings, the sound and feel of the wind, the adrenaline rush, and the fact that no one was trying to kill him filled the young Viking with joy. He and Toothless soared above the clouds, the island and ocean completely vanishing from sight.

The clouds suddenly opened up, revealing the water far below, and a small group of seagulls. Hiccup gently guided the dragon into the midst of the flock. The white birds gave the Night Fury terrified looks and a wide birth while he gave them a smug look. Suddenly, Toothless snapped his jaws, causing the birds to shriek and scatter. The dragon laughed, his master tried not to.

"Toothless!" Hiccup attempted to scold his friend, though he was unable to contain a chuckle.

Then they heard a familiar squawk behind them. Hiccup stopped Toothless and turned to see Prince flying towards them. Hiccup wondered what the Nadder was doing here by himself.

"Prince? What's going on?" Hiccup asked the dragon.

Astrid's dragon squawked some more and Toothless grunted in return. Hiccup felt Toothless grow tense as the conversation continued. Finally, Prince finished whatever he had to say, and turned to return to the village. Hiccup looked down at the black dragon.

"Toothless what is it? What's WROOOOOONNNGG?" The Viking shouted as Toothless suddenly took off back toward the island. All Hiccup could do was hang on and keep them from falling from the sky.

When the island came into view, Toothless increased his speed. As they came closer, Hiccup could see the villagers moving about energetically, like ants around a disturbed anthill. The dragon dived, the familiar screech ringing through the air. Suddenly, Toothless leveled out and slowly flew to a landing in front of the elder's house. Hiccup dismounted as Tuffnut and Snotlout rushed towards him.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Hiccup questioned. Astrid's scream erupted from the house, making the three Vikings flinch. Concern welled up inside of Hiccup, and he attempted to run to the house. He was stopped short as Snotlout and Tuffnut each grabbed him by the arm. All three began talking at once.

"You guys! What are you doing? Let me go!" Hiccup demanded.

"I really don't think you should go in there," Snotlout said.

"Your wife's got it in for you," Tuffnut tried to tell him; "She's like a dragon herself right now."

"I have to see Astrid!" Hiccup continued to resist.

"You're not listening! Astrid isn't in her right mind!" Snotlout tried to see if shouting worked better, it didn't.

Astrid's voice blasted from the house, drowning out their argument, "I'M GOING TO KILL THE SON OF A HALF-TROLL THAT DID THIS TO ME!"

Hiccup no longer resisted his friends' grip. The two Vikings let him go as he stepped back, looking fearful and pale.

"Told ya." Tuffnut said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I'm s-sure I can wait for her to m-maybe calm down a bit, right?" Hiccup asked his friends, seeking their approval.

"Hiccup?" Astrid's voice floated from the building again, "Is that you?" The three Vikings were astounded that she could hear them, and Hiccup cursed his luck as he slowly walked to the door. Before he opened it he turned to look at Snotlout and Tuffnut, who both gave him looks of pity.

Astrid was lying on a bed on the opposite side of the room to the door. The young woman was covered in sweat and looked up as the door opened. She spotted Hiccup past all the women that were running back and forth in front of her. He looked a little scared, but Astrid assumed it was from worry.

It was from worry all right, worry over seeing in this much pain and worry over what she was going to do to him. Hiccup crept carefully into the room, his eyes connecting with Astrid's. His wife extended her hand and motioned for him to come closer. Her voice was little more than a whisper and filled with exhaustion when she spoke.

"Hiccup, come here." The Viking dutifully approached her, taking her outstretched hand in his. Now that he was closer, all fear of personal harm was crushed by concern and pain of watching her suffer. "I'm so glad you're here," she continued, "I was afraid you were going to miss it- AAAAAAHH!" The soon-to-be mother cried in pain as another contraction hit her. Hiccup was forced to his knees while he restrained his own cries of pain. The gentle hand he had been holding felt like it was now crushing his in a vice-like grip.

This continued well into the night. Hiccup slowly built a tolerance for the pain and found himself more and more concerned for his wife's wellbeing. But then, after hours of pain, Astrid's exhausted cry was replaced by the wail of fresh lungs of a newborn baby. The child was taken and cleaned and then handed to his father wrapped in a warm blanket.

Hiccup held his son gently, his eyes filled with wonder, his mouth practically sitting on the floor. He sat down in a chair next to the head of the bed and stared at the now sleeping boy. He was lost in his own little world until Astrid tapped him on the shoulder.

"Can I hold him?" She asked.

Hiccup carefully handed their son to her. He watched happily as she smiled at the newborn. A certain glow seemed to emanate from her that wasn't there before. Both of the Haddocks looked up as the door opened again. Stoic, Astrid's father and mother, Toothless, and Prince entered the room. The grandparents stood back and beamed at their children and their grandchild while the dragons quietly approached. Both of them were transfixed on the tiny human in Astrid's arms. They sniffed the infant a little bit, debating on who this was. Finally, they seemed to make up their minds. Toothless purred at the child and then went to sit next to Hiccup, looking happily between his master and the newest Haddock. Prince let out a small squawk of approval and nudged Astrid's head. She laughed and rubbed his chin.

Astrid and Hiccup looked at each other, grinning from ear to ear. Astrid shifted closer to Hiccup so that they could both watch their child sleep. Things were going to be different for the young couple from now on, but no matter how different or challenging, they had an entire village to help them.

A woman, her physique hiding her true age, looked out one of the many windows of her grand mansion at the land before her. She had black hair, and a saddened face. Her skin was snow-white, as if it never saw the sun. She listened as the door at the back of the room opened. She heard a very slight sound as the intruder entered the room, sword drawn. She did not turn around, but spoke with a solemn voice.

"I know what you came for," she said.

"Is that so?" The intruder's deep, sinister voice had no effect on her.

"Yes. You have come to kill me and escape this place, and then you plan to unleash the secret held bound by the Gods since before even I was born."

The stranger shook his head as he approached, impressed. "So, if you know all of this, why have you not tried to stop me?"

She turned, her forlorn face inches from the end of his blade, "Because, what's the point. You won't be able to kill me, and even if you did, no human no matter how twisted could ever possibly hope to stand against Odin, king of the Gods."

The man smiled while he prepared to strike, "Goddess or not, you will die."

**Those who said anything to me about it asked me to write a sequel, so I have posted this as a kind of preview of sorts and to announce my next story. I will begin **_**How to Train Your Dragon: Battle for Valhalla **_**soon. Hope you all enjoy it!**

**Darkguymelef**


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